Topshop founder ‘Randy Ralph’ dies at 83

SIR Ralph Halpern, who founded Topshop, has died aged 83.

After starting as a trainee at Selfridges earning £5 a week, he founded the women’s fashion chain and eventually became head of the Burton retail group.

But his private life threatened to detract from his business achievements when a Page 3 model sold the story of their tenyear affair to the News Of The World in the Eighties, detailing his prowess in bed and earning him the nicknames ‘Randy Ralph’ and ‘Five-times-a-night Halpern’.

Halpern was born in London in October 1938 after his Jewish parents, Bernard and Olga, fled Austria following the Nazis’ rise to power. Their son followed in the footsteps of his fashion designer mother and retailer father.

After a few years working for his father before Selfridges, Halpern joined the Burton Group in 1961. At the time, it was known for making men’s suits.

In 1968 Halpern established Topshop as a high street concession, and following two years of huge success the first standalone Topshop store opened in Croydon, south London.

As its success grew, so did Halpern’s as he rose to become chief executive of the Burton Group in 1978. He expanded the company to include Dorothy Perkins, Debenhams, Principles, Racing Green and Evans. The suave boss of the fashion empire – who died on Wednesday from natural causes – became known for his love of gold Rolexes and jewelled cufflinks, and used an Aston Martin as his company car.

His mantra was ‘retail is showbusiness’. However, his high-profile business life put a strain on his relationship with his first wife, Joan, whom he wed in 1967.

In 1987, the marriage was rocked by a kiss-and-tell story by model Fiona Wright, who claimed they’d begun an affair when she was just 19. The details were spread across three pages, with Miss Wright explaining how she rubbed anti-baldness cream into Halpern’s head.

She also revealed intimate details about their sex life and claimed they romped five times a night. After the story came out, Halpern became the subject of satirical cartoons and was described by The Sunday Times as a ‘flashy’ man who ‘couldn’t keep his trousers on’.

Despite decades of success and dedication to the Burton Group, Halpern was ousted by shareholders in 1990 following an unsuccessful venture into property.

In 1999, Halpern and Lady Halpern – who had a daughter, Jenny – finalised their divorce. He was living with his exsecretary, Laura Blume, at the time.

‘Retail is showbusiness’