In the British consumers eyes, Topshop is seen as one of the most successful high street stores. In this review I will be investigating where Topshop originated from and how it generates an 'awesome retail experience'.
The brand Topshop is run by ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Arcadia, the UK's second largest clothing retailer. Arcadia group Plc is the new name for the former Burton group Plc, whose share of the UK's woman's ware market is 11.5%. The group was founded 'Montague Burton' in 1900 by a Lithuanian immigrant. When the young Burton found that he couldn't afford to go to university, he borrowed money from a relative and set up his own men's ware shop. Within ten years the business had expanded to a chain of 14 shops and had introduced the bespoke tailoring operation that was to make Montague Burton a household name in the 20's and 30's. In 1946 the company made its first move into the women's ware market. Expansion continued in the 50's and early 60's and in the mid 60's Peter Robinson launched 'Topshop' which to this day has maintained its reputation for putting new ideas on the high street first.
Today the Arcadia group reaches its customers through fourteen brands, selling men's and women's ware from over 2,600 outlets and, as of 1999 the group again proved itself to be among the most forward looking UK retailers with the launch of Zoom, an e-commerce and internet service provider that forms a key part of the groups multi-channel approach to retailing.
On my visit to Topshop's flagship store in Oxford Circus London, I was over-whelmed by the varsity of the store and versatility of the range of products offered within. Some of the facilities include: a café, enormous changing rooms, fashion advisors, nail salon, sweet shop, catwalk and it's latest innovation- 'The quick-fix hair salon'! This shows that Topshop one of London's coolest high-street stores takes top-to-toe looks seriously. Its latest blow-dry service means that you can choose from one of seven stylish hairdos, each of which can be achieved in 30 minutes. It really takes shopping to another level!
Topshop is spread out over three floors, ground floor, lower ground, and lower ground 1. The first floor is devoted entirely to every accessory imaginable. From tights to topes, hundreds of handbags, and a maze of jewellery stands, toped off with the most important shopping aid, a gigantic sweet shop! Every girls dream!
The lower ground floor is made up of the main bulk of Topshops own clothing line, with special sections for tall and petite. On this floor you will also find the boudoir, with a huge range of under-ware for all occasions, it also features other designer collections and a special Kylie Minogue range. On this floor there is also a Moto town, dedicated to everything denim. There are jeans in every style, shape, colour and size. If your looking for something a bit different you can get lost in the designer boutique, where you will find one-off pieces. There is also Nails Ink on the lower ground floor, if you fancy being pampered whilst shopping.
Lower ground 1 (or basement) boasts a huge shoe lounge, which is brightly light, with colourful displays, which are clean cut modern and easy to look at. They have designer shoe collections by Miss L.Fire, Paco Gil, and O L'autre. The shoe lounge also has sections allocated to a variety of popular shoe brands such as, The Shoe Studio, Nine West, Office, Faith and Bertie.
The basement is where Topshop again rises to the top of the game, offering a huge section made up of many smaller designer sections, (almost like a fashion market) giving you the impression that the world of fashion is at your feet. Some of the makes they are offering include: Dari Meya, Minkie, Sharei Lamar, Kal Kaur Rai, Imso, Rare, Love, Happy Loves It, Walg, Lipsy, Miss Real, Koci Koci, Skin to Hide, People Tree and Romeo Pires.
The most recent famous designer collection to hit Topshop is Celia Birtwell's. Celia is and was the most important textile designer of her generation. She has been described as the face of a thousand prints. From 1967 to 1973 Celia and Ossie were at the height of the fashion industry. With the collapse of her marriage in 1973, Celia left the fashion industry to teach at collages across London. She continued to be painted and drawn by David Hockney and it was with his help and support that in 1984, she decided to stat designing again. Celia decided to open a shop in Notting Hill's Westbourne Park Road and she quickly established herself as a successful designer once again within the world of interiors.
Famed for her gorgeous hand drawn prints and electric collaborations with her late husband Ossie Clark, she and the design team have revived six classic prints, and reworked them in free-flowing, gentle retro styles. "I love to see women wear and enjoy my prints in a modern way, so a union with Topshop makes perfect sense". Says Birtwell. Inky floral in cream, steel blue and black decorate blouses and dresses, evoking the romantic feel of her early collaborations with Clark.
The over all atmosphere of the store is buzzing with colour and vibrancy. The displays are funky and eye-catching; the wallpaper is girly and floral with childlike drawings of London, giving a playful feel. It truly is an amazing experience! However when I first visited the store, I felt like I had be subjected to 'image overload', there was just so much to look at I didn't know where to start, when I did find what I was looking for, there was so many different versions, I felt spoilt for choice and found it impossible to make a decision! Saying this I totally credit their wide range of merchandise, it is always up to date and on top of the latest fashion trends. Arcadia and Topshops target is to be Britain's biggest provider of young fashion, which so far they have achieved by catering for all types of fashion groups, (such as punk, rock, gothic, trend, BoHo, Vintage, glamour ect.) The clothes are fashionable but at high-street prices. They make sure the clothes are easily accessible, with their large chain of stores and there e-commence shopping facility. Their always kept stocked up with all sizes available. I genuinely believe that Topshop has generated a new winning formula when it comes to shopping, they have perfected the shopping experience offering extras such as personal shoppers, nail bars and a blow-dry service as well as providing such a large and diverse range of products. This is probably what makes it so popular. Other stores simply cannot compete.
However, I am not the biggest fan of Topshop. In my experience it is impersonal and very commercial. Everyone loves it, everyone shops there and everyone ends up wearing the same clothes! It is only the Oxford Circus Topshop that is slowly converting my views (except for on Saturday afternoons!); this is as they have (on the lower ground 1) the small designer sections, which are always really hot! Topshop is also doing some fantastic designer collaborations, not only giving exposure, but also financially supporting new generation designers too. You also know that there is probably a limited number of that particular garment made, resting your mind that not everyone is going to be walking around with the same! The other Topshops I have been to (particularly in Wales) are small with only the main-stream stock, making choices limited. I'd like to see Topshop push their boundaries even more; the have already proved they are a force to be reckoned with, but id like to see them get even more daring, quirky, over the top, and eccentric…………. Go on Topshop, try me!