Zara – SWOT Analysis
Topshop was setup in 1964 in the basement of a department store. It became part of Arcadia Group Ltd alongside shops like Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Dorothy Perkins and Outfit. Now, they have over 300 stores in the UK and ship to more than 100 countries worldwide. Oxford Circus in London is Topshop’s flagship store; they’ve also recently opened flagships in Chicago and New York.
Topshop specialise in on-trend and high-fashion clothing. They sell Women’s, Baby, and Maternity. Topshop have collaborated with many designers and celebrities like Christopher Kane and Kate Moss to create fresh and unique looks. They are also the first ever high street brand in history to attend London Fashion Week.
Communication is a way of passing on a message or transferring information. A business needs accurate and relevant information so they can make important decisions in order to remain competitive. There are two different types of communication; internal and external. Internal communication means communication within the company, for example a manager to all shop-floor staff. External communication is the company communicating with others outside of it, its customers.
Topshop communicate internally and externally public in a variety of ways. One example of external communication would be Twitter. Twitter is a social networking site that has millions of users. Topshop use Twitter to interact with their customers; this may be to reveal new items, keep them up to date on events, or even handle customer complaints. By using Twitter, Topshop are keeping their customers up to date with important information as they know that most of their target market (16-34 years) use the website. Other social media Topshop use are Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and Pinterest. Many departments that would use this way of communication would be Marketing, PR and IT.
Email is a way of communicating both internally and externally. Internally, Topshop would use email to communicate between staff, for example Head Office emailing all staff to inform them of an upcoming event, a new range etc. Topshop can email externally through newsletters. Newsletters (handled by IT or Marketing and PR) inform their customers of new clothing ranges, upcoming events, trend alerts, and sales. People can subscribe to these by putting their email address into the website. This way, Topshop can keep their customers up to date with important information.
Another type of external communication that Topshop use is YouTube. YouTube has over 1 billion different users each month (in the UK), and Topshop use this to their advantage. They have their own channel which has over 35,000 subscribers. They upload videos daily of things such as ‘EDITED’ where a Topshop stylist will create outfits with the new collection. Or ‘5 Ways to Wear’, which showcases Topshop’s clothing. YouTube is a great way for Topshop to promote their products and also communicate with their customers. The commenting system on YouTube allows Topshop’s customers to comment on what they like and dislike, or even recommend what they’d like to see next. The IT, Marketing and PR departments would have a strong presence in this type of communication. Styling and Personal Shopping (aka customer service) would have an input too.
