How The Brand Is Currently Performing Topshop Market Positioning

Business and Marketing
Name
Institution
Table of Figures TOC \h \z \c "Figure"
Figure 1: Topshop followers on Twitter PAGEREF _Toc499458875 \h 4
Figure 2: Overview of Topshop website PAGEREF _Toc499458876 \h 5
Figure 3: Overview of website for international customers PAGEREF _Toc499458877 \h 6
Figure 4: Overview of the shoot the Show PAGEREF _Toc499458878 \h 6
Figure 5: Overview of arrangement of clothes in Topshop PAGEREF _Toc499458879 \h 7
Figure 6: streetscape of Amsterdam PAGEREF _Toc499458880 \h 7
Figure 7: The site in Amsterdam is long and narrow PAGEREF _Toc499458881 \h 8
Figure 8: Stores have shiny metal alongside a rough brick and a coloured glass alongside wide timber planks PAGEREF _Toc499458882 \h 9
Topshop
Introduction
For this report, the retailer studied and analysed is Topshop, which operates and provides its services in the United Kingdom and the category that was studied is Women's fashion. Data provided in this report was collected on 23/11/2017. The competitor chosen for the report is Urban Outfitters which is based in the United States. Women's clothing will be studied and analysed in this case.
Topshop market positioning
Topshop retails women's fashion and clothing, with another extra store by the name Topman that sell clothes for men. Topshop has 300 stores in the United Kingdom and 100 international outlets. This helps them to accommodate their many customers across the globe. Topshop offers large varieties of products and services in order to provide an environment that can accommodate the very diverse audience that they serve. They provide basics to cutting-edge trends, thereby keeping them and their customers ahead of the fashion and style game. To achieve this they have Topshop lines which consist of the mainline, premium shops and boutiques. They also have Topshop services which include style advisory, Topshop to go and Topshop express (McColl et al., 2013).
Customers
Target customers for Topshop are women aged between 18-35 years, with income range between £8,000 to 40,000 per year. The target customers are young fashion-conscious people on a budget. Topshop targets two segments of customers, the achievers and the experiencers. Achievers are believed to have goal-oriented lifestyles and are committed to career and family. Images are always crucial to achievers; they favour established, prestige product and services that demonstrate success to their peers. Experiencers are people motivated by self-expression. They are young, enthusiastic, and impulsive customers.
They have fitting rooms that are designed for the customers to test out on the clothes that they need to buy. In the fitting rooms they also have mirrors where the clients can check out on the dress in a three dimensional view to evaluate the fit of the clothes they need to buy. Once the customers have selected their products, they go to the cashier point whey they can pay through the Topshop membership card, credit cards and cash. Once the payment is made the clothes are put together in carrier bag by staff and handed over to the customer. To market their products further the carrier bags are printed with the name of the company. They also have employees who help customers carry their products to their vehicles when necessary.
Topshop developed a website that is responsive to both Android and IOS mobile which increases their support to customers. Topshop has a mobile application (TOP LOOKS) which allows users to get special offers, buy exclusively and win prices on the regular basis, it increases online and offline purchases(Carey et al.,2014).
How the Brand is Currently Performing
The Arcadia report explains that despite increasing income still the profit is not as per expectations. On the website the report reveals that to overcome this they will be focusing more on stock management control. In doing so, they will improve the markdown and the profit margin.
E-commerce sales have grown by +22% as compared to last year.
Topshop made a net sale worthy Swedish Krona 110.00 B. This represents the brand's turnover from the sales of finished goods through various distribution channels used by Topshop to reach its customers, after the deduction of returns, allowances for damages made or goods that went missing and discounts permitted.
Topshop had an operating margin (Return on sales) of 15.43% as the measure of sales revenue of last year.
The customer base has grown tremendously over the past years.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: Topshop followers on Twitter
Topshop followers on Twitter have increased significantly as shown in the figure above (Blundell & Lynne, 2013).
The Internal and External Visual Merchandising
Topshop's website is easy to navigate thus encouraging more people to shop online.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2: Overview of Topshop website
Retrieved from Topshop.Com
All their products and services are available on their website apart from the vintage collection which is only available at the Oxford Circus store making shopping online with Topshop completely worry-free.
Topshop also offers products and services for international customers. The international customers only need to select their country and the product they wish to buy and delivery is made for free to the customers. With this strategy the company is able to reach its target and diverse customers across the world.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 3: Overview of website for international customers
Retrieved from Topshop.Com
Topshop has a feature known as Shoot the show which lets viewers customize the catwalk, giving customers the capability to adjust the colour of key appearances and accessories. This improves customer experience about a product, and also customers can find and choose what satisfies them. With this feature the customers can customize trendy clothing and beauty quicker than before.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 4: Overview of the shoot the Show
Retrieved from Topshop.Com
The internal and external visual merchandising of store layout
In February 2015 Topshop opened European flagship store at de Kalverstraat in Amsterdam. Topshop had various outlets across France, Germany and the Netherlands, but they found it necessary to start pursuing European expansion with the presence of its stand-alone stores (LincoLn & Siân, 2013).
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 5: Overview of arrangement of clothes in Topshop
Retrieved from Topshop.Com
Topshop has a tree store site located at Oxford Street in London. It was designed to achieve the usual dynamic Topshop and Topman store environment in London. They had to move the brand environment forward. They tailored components to fit the streetscape of London and make it easier for customers to move between grounds, first and basement floors.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 6: streetscape of Amsterdam
Retrieved from Topshop.Com
The site in London is long and narrow. This presents a challenge as to how to fit in their rooms set features. However, this helps them to create a separate boutique feel to the shop by utilizing the shop spaces.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 7: The site in Amsterdam is long and narrow
Retrieved from Topshop.Com
The shop front is divided into three sections. It is designed with aluminium goalposts and large, transparent grazing panels to minimize strike and to offer open views into the store.
Interior layouts offer customers more space to browse collections. Visible blocks are whitewashed or covered with pale wooden panelling to reflect a clean, minimal feel.
Stores have shiny metal alongside a rough brick and a coloured glass alongside wide timber planks. This material helps to create contrast, and positioning of this material creates energy and supports the fashion authority of the brands.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 8: Stores have shiny metal alongside a rough brick and a coloured glass alongside wide timber planks
Retrieved from Topshop.Com
Customers Services
In response to customers demand for style advisors, Topshop has increased the number of its style advisors; they have been placed in every store across the country. This service has been moved on with the introduction of “Topshop To Go”; where the style advisors services are brought directly to the customers whether at home or at work. The style advisor offers free fashion advice to assist customers to find the perfect purchase with no struggle.
Topshop supports young fashion talent in the UK. Through this initiative, Topshop are adding credibility and authenticity to its brand in the eyes of their customers. This makes their customer's style gurus.
Topshop also has in-store events, such as seasonal catwalk shows, celebrity shoppers, and makeovers; all these provide Topshop customers with the exciting shopping experience.
Trends Seen and Appropriateness for Target Customer, Referencing WGSN Research
Firstly, the fashion design & inspiration is characterised by catwalk seasonal shows which help equip the target customers for Topshop with the exciting shopping experience; the customer will always shop in their stores because it is not just about purchasing but also they are gaining something extra.
Secondly, they have 14 Product Categories. Topshop provides various product categories and making the store easily navigable. It attracts many customers because they don't have to struggle while using their website and all products are available on the website and well organized, the only thing that is not there is Oxford Circus store.
Thirdly their Retail Intelligence is of high class. The stores are...