OPPapers.com

Top Shop Marketing Mix

Topshop

Market
According to Mintel (August 2003), UK consumers keep on spending on clothes, even when they are cutting back in other areas, with total consumer expenditure on clothing in the UK reaching £34,825 million in 2002 - a 25.3% increase compared to 1998. This exceeds the growth of total consumer expenditure in the UK over the same period.
Although the rate of year-on-year sales growth slowed slightly in 2003 as the consumer boom of 2000 and 2001 cooled, the slowdown in fashion retailing has not been as abrupt as some observers predicted.

Specialist clothing retailers, such as Topshop, Next and GAP, account for the biggest share of spend, attracting between 68%-71% of all consumer expenditure on clothing during 2002. Department stores, sports goods retailers and mail order houses also vie for a share of shoppers' wallets but these are not so well positioned as some of the specialists to respond quickly to emerging fashion trends.

This is where retailers like Topshop, H&M, New Look and Zara have carved a reputation, with their ability to pre-empt latest catwalk styles at affordable prices and with the shortest possible lead times.

Achievements
Topshop has undergone a remarkable transformation since the mid 1990s, changing from a down market outfitter for the nation's teenagers to a seriously cool, trend-setting brand. Its success has made Topshop a retail phenomenon on the high street, enjoying a huge growth in sales profits and carving out a distinctive personality with an individual brand mix.

It continues to headline in nearly every fashion title and broadsheet, establishing a reputation for bringing innovation and style to the high street. While many other retailers belatedly copy the latest look, Topshop frequently sets the agenda. Topshop has received numerous accolades in recent years - style bible 'The Face' called Topshop "a dream factory that initiates and innovates, and creates its own fashion", while i-D said: "Can Topshop...