Fashion Management and Marketing 1

Topshop brand strategy report which discusses Topshop as a whole and why they are seen as a poor performing brand that has seen their sales drop in recent years. It will also discuss my recommendations as to how the brand could be improved and increase the number of sales. It focuses on sustainability and how by introducing a sustainable sub brand to Topshop it could help increase their consumer base and make them become more successful by helping combat the idea of fast fashion.

From 2014 to 2017 Topshop saw a huge decline in revenue and profit suggesting that Topshop has been a poor performing brand for a number of years.  In 2014 the brands revenue started off at £999.3m, but by 2017 it had decreased to £933.6m suggesting that the brand is struggling to sell the same number of products they had previously been selling. This linked with the fact that the amount Topshop is spending on products has increased from £781.3m in 2014 to £821.1m in 2017 which could be a contributing factor to why the amount of revenue they have made in recent years has declined.  The gross profit margin has declined by 10% in 3 years due to a number of different factors. Some of these factors include the rise in online retailers who make cheaper and more affordable versions of the same products, the growth in knowledge of fast fashion making consumers become more conscious of what they buy and how it can have an impact on t...

As a group of people looking at Topshop for the brand for their brand strategy report we all shared this survey on our social media pages to get a range of responses to help get a better understanding of the brand. We asked a range of different questions based on different aspects of the brand we would need to learn about for the report. We asked about the price points and if consumers thought they were an accurate representation of the quality they were getting. We also asked if customers wanted a more sustainable line in store based on learning about the way workers who make some of the current ranges are treated. 

As a whole I believe this project was successful and I have managed to generate a brand strategy report that looks at the reasons behind why Topshop as a brand is no longer doing as well as it used to and have thought up a plausible strategy that would be able to help this.   What went well: I was able to get a better knowledge of the marketing side of brands  It enabled me to look deeper into brands than what is on the surface I got a better understanding of what makes a successful brand I looked deeper into Topshop as a brand and was able to see it from different perspectives e.g. consumers, competitors, people who don't shop there, people who do not like the brand etc. I generated a new strategy that would help Topshop become a more successful brand and stop their decline in sales I was able to justify why this would be successful SWOT analysis of this idea to see if it would fit in with Topshop as an...

For my brand positioning map have chosen to focus on the quality and the prices of the products sold at each of the stores. I have tried to choose a range of retailers who all sell clothes but each charge different prices and have a different quality of product.  For example, Marks and Spencer's are seen to have a high quality of products and charge a premium price for them. They are able to do this because their quality of products does match the price and it is affordable for their target demographic. Also, Primark is seen to do very low quality clothes and therefore is only able to charge a low price for all of their products otherwise people would not buy them.  This is successful for them as a brand as many of their customers are very young and are not seen to brand loyal so do not feel the need to keep hold of their clothes for a long period of time and therefore can throw them away once they have been worn once to twice....

I have generated a mock up of what the new sub brand (Revive and Wear) Instagram feed would look like. I have chosen a selection of image ranging from sustainable clothes to how fast fashion can have an impact on the environment.  The sub brands instagram would focus on both promoting and advertising the brand by showing new items from the collection as well as influencers and celebrities wearing them. It would also show the impact go fast fashion on the environment as a way to encourage people to buy less fast fashion and make a more conscious effort to think about the environment when they are purchasing their clothes.  This instagram account would be one of the most successful ways of promoting the brand as now many of Topshop's consumers are part of the 'Instagram generation' and would therefore be more likely to respond to this new brand through social media than through a more traditional method of advertising. Even t...

After gaining feedback from my formative feedback presentation it was suggested that this would be a good way to see how the sub brand idea would work for Topshop. By creating this it gave me an insight into what the positives and negatives would be of creating this sub brand and what type of impact it would have on Topshop as an overall brand. 

In order for Topshop to make the new sub brand a success for them, they would need to advertise it and communicate with their consumers in a number of different ways.  For example, I have created a mock up of what their instagram feed may look like. I have created a separate one from the main Topshop account as it would ensure that it was completely dedicated to the new brand to help it become a success. As well as social media, influencers who are already established within the sustainable fashion world would help promote this brand as they would already have the following of people who have an interest in sustainable fashion and would want to go and shop at this brand.  Traditional means of advertising such as magazines would also be a successful way of communicating as they would reach a wide audience and be able to be seen alongside their competitors in a different way than just online. 

For this sub brand I wanted the target consumer demographics to be very similar to that of the current Topshop. This is because in order to make the sub brand a success it would have to appeal to the customers Topshop already has in order to not alienate them and see a decrease in sales even more. I also want the sub brand to attract new consumers who may not have shopped at Topshop previously due to fast fashion. I have chosen images that represent a number of different age groups as by introducing a sub brand that targets helping the environment it may get more interest from the older generation and therefore make them want to shop at Topshop. Also, this new sub brand would feature timeless and classic items of clothing that may also appeal more to the older generation than some of Topshop's previous ranges that were not aimed at them. Much of the younger generation would still be the target demographic of this new brand as they have...

For my proposed market position and competitors I have focused manly on the new competitors for the sub brand as the market position of Topshop would not change drastically by introducing a new sustainable sub brand.  The main competitors for the new sub brand would be those that already focus on sustainable clothing. In order for Topshop's new sub brand to be a success it would have to follow some the same steps as these brands. It would also have to heavily promote the fact that they are selling something sustainable as they have been known to be a brand that only sells fast fashion clothing. 

Topshop as a brand currently use a number of different strategies to communicate with their consumers and promote their brand. For this mood board I wanted to focus on some of the most successful ones and how they work. As we are now living in a digital age, some of the best ways Topshop communicate with consumers and promote their brand is through social media and in particular Instagram. They use influencers to widely spread their new collections and products, as well as posts on a range of social media including YouTube. I have also focused on some of their more traditional methods of communication with their consumers including billboards and taxi and bus advertising that are seen by more than just people who choose to follow the brand on social media and are a way for Topshop to try and get new consumers.  The traditional ways of advertising are equally as successful as the more techn...

My research, both primary and secondary, suggested that Topshop's target demographic was young women and girls aged between 15-30. I wanted to capture this profile within my mood board so I started to build a customer profile of the types of things this particular demographic have interests in.  For example, some of the things they do have interests in that makes them want to shop at Topshop are: Social media Fast fashion - no brand loyalty like the older generation  Online shopping Fashion focused - conscious of keeping up with new trends Style on a budget - high street replicas of designer brands In order to generate this profile in a mood board I focused on the main areas including social media and being fashion focused on a budget. Topshop have an app and a website that allows for online shopping which appeals to their target demographic as well as the option to shop from social media posts on ...

I have focused on the main high street competitors of Topshop for this mood board rather than their online competitors. These are the main competitors of Topshop as they too are having to compete with the rise of online retailers. River Island, Zara and H & M are the ones I chose to focus on as they are similar brands and sell similar products.  In terms of the brands current market position I focused on this through the types of products they sell and how this is perceived by their consumer. Topshop sell a range of different things from basics to high end suggesting they want to fit into a number of different spaces within the fashion market that will allow them to appeal to a large overall audience.  The references I have chosen reflect the main competitors and the different ranges the brand sells that place them in certain places within the fashion market. I have tried to present the idea that they fit into both high end retail and the cheaper side of high street ...

My report initially started out very black and white as I wanted to keep the overall look very simple and to fit in with the logo of Topshop as this would have a prominent feature throughout the report. However, my feedback suggested that I should add some colour throughout to try and soften the overall look and make it look less harsh. Also, by adding more colour it would make it more in tune with the brand, as Topshop is aimed at the younger generation so adding colour would make it seem more fun and youthful.  I originally had just a black and white table for my PESTLE and SWOT Analysis as well as for the customer profile and the marketing mix. However, in order to make this more visually appealing I added colour to the table and used the same colours for all of the tables and the graphs in order to still stick to a theme but make it suit the brand more than black and white.  Also, I initially had the text at size 20,...

For the first six sections of my report, it was suggested I needed to re arrange some of the sections, in particular my executive summary, in order to make the report flow better and ensure I covered all the main points I needed to. To improve my introduction I needed to be more critical of the brand and less descriptive by being more objective. I had a good level of detail in my introduction, but I also needed to include some extra background information to the brand as well.  To improve my macro-economic analysis section I needed to restructure and assess what needed to go in each section of my PESTLE analysis. I moved some of the factors around as they fitted better into different sections. I also added some more visual references to this section in order to make it less text heavy and help display what the PESTLE analysis was demonstrating.  The brand market position was the strongest section of my repo...

Some of Topshop's main competitors include River Island, H & M, New Look and Zara. Many of these brands offer a similar price range to Topshop but have other aspects within their brand that makes them more appealing to the consumer.  River Island, H & M, New Look and Zara all offer a children's range which could attract a larger consumer base. Topshop do not offer this which could be a reason as to why they are not as successful as it's competitors.  Like Topshop, it's competitors are starting to lose sales to online retailers that are making cheaper clothes at more affordable prices that mean you don't even need to leave the house to get them, making them more accessible to people. These online retailers are now seen as more of a threat to traditional bricks and mortar retailers like Topshop because of the accessibility of them. Research suggests the younger generation are more likely to shop online than in store because this is the world they hav...

What is your opinion on Topshop's pricing points?  Which of the following products have you purchased from Topshop? Do the prices have an impact on whether you buy from Topshop? Are you more likely to shop at Topshop if there is a sale on? The results from this survey were used in the product selection part of my report and helped form opinions on how successful the brand is doing based on what they are selling. This survey suggested that the prices do have a major impact on what people will buy from Topshop and how often they will shop there. It gave a clear indication that many people wait until there is a sale on before they choose to shop there. However, it wad also suggested that it depends on the products if they are too expensive or not. This could be down to the different ranges and sub brands offered within Topshop which sometimes offer different price points. As Topshop offer a number o...

Baker, R (2013 January 30) Topshop ramps up marketing content Retrieved from  https://www.marketingweek.com/2013/01/30/topshop-ramps-up-content-marketing/ [last accessed 11 January 2019] Bearne, S (2015 February 15) Topshop taps into real time Twitter so consumers can shop London fashion week trends Retrived from    https ://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/topshop-taps-real-time-twitter-so-customers-shop-london-fashion-week-trends/1334285 [last accessed 6 February 2019]  Boohoo remain in fashion as sales surge (2019 January 15)  Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46874367 [last accessed 12 January 2019] Bramley, E (2017 June 7) Why Topshop is falling out of fashion with the Instagram generation  Retrieved from  https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jun/07/topshop-falling-out-of-fashion-with-instagram-generation [last accessed 30 December 2018] Cameron, E (2016 February) Topshop Consumer Profile Demographics Retr...

This survey was all about social media and the different accounts people follow. I also asked about how social media plays a role in people's shopping habits as well as the role of influencers to see how much of an impact they have on what people choose to buy. In order to gain responses to the questions I put this survey on my Instagram account and on my Facebook page to try and gain a variety of results. By putting it on both it allowed me to get a different demographic of results than if I had just put it on one.  This survey was mostly answered by 18-24 year olds which could be because it was placed on my social media accounts and this is my personal demographic. It could also because the nature of the survey is social media and this is the generation who have grown up with social media so they are likely to be the most active on it and use it as a way to do their shopping much more than the older generations....