01

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A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE

TOPSHOPCHAIN TO RE-LAUNCH

TAIWAN

MA Fashion Marketing and CommunicationSupervisor Crosby Gillian

MA course leader Yvonne Trew

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A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THE

TOPSHOPCHAIN TO RE-LAUNCH

TAIWAN

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ABSTRACT

In Taiwanese fashion, fast fashion has increased

In recent years. According to fashion news and

magazine reports, people can get much more

information about foreign brands or understand

the latest fashion trends, most Taiwanese people

are informed about European fashion through

watching TV programmes or reading fashion

magazines such as VOGUE and ELLE. However,

Taiwanese consumers find it difficult to buy

European brands due to the lack of exposure of

European brands. For example, If a Taiwanese

wants to buy a H&M or Zara design, they must

travel to Hong Kong or other places nearby which

will result in not being able to see the product

beforehand and only available to buy online which

may be troublesome if it is not suitable.

There are three top European brands which

have been successful over the years worldwide

but have not entered the Taiwanese market,

these are; H&M, ZARA and TOPSHOP. According

to news reported, H&M and ZARA will go to

Taiwan by the end of 2011. Such news have been

positively received which may lead to success

in the opening of the new stores which will be

located in a shopping district in Taipei along with

other high-fashion luxury brands.

However, TOPSHOP has not had such a

positive reception than its competitors and most

Taiwanese consumers are not aware of the brand.

the fact is they have been to Taiwan during 2000-

2002, however sales were not good and thus

they left. In European fashion industry, no doubt

TOSHOP is a popular high street brand in the

UK, however in Taiwan, TOPSHOP is not well

known. One of the causes of failure in Taiwan

was due to its high price which the majority of

the consumers which were young females, were

unable to afford. Moreover, they have no other

stores nearby Taiwan such as Hong Kong which

is considered as a favourite place to shop.

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Now, that ZARA and H&M will go to Taiwan,

this will mean that Taiwanese consumers will

be more aware and knowledgeable regarding

European fashion brands and as a result, will

be willing to spend more. This is an ideal time

for TOPSHOP to reconsider and re-enter the

Taiwanese market again. In 2009, Kate Moss

designed some clothes for TOPSHOP which were

reported by the media and as a result of that,

Taiwanese consumers became aware of the brand

and gradually were more exposed to the brand

especially because fast fashion is an emerging

trend. However, if they have not considered

entering Taiwanese market again, this market will

be carved up by other Europe brands or Japanese

brands such as H&M, ZARA and UNIQLO.

In order to understand how Taiwanese think

about this brand, questionnaires and interviews

were performed. Through that, people can

understand the image of TOPSHOP of Taiwanese

consumers; moreover, understanding Taiwanese

customer’s needs and how to improve the

marketing strategies if TOPSHOP re – launches in

the Taiwanese market.

This report will gives some recommendations

and suggestions which will aim to improve the

marketing strategies and awareness of TOPSHOP

in Taiwan. TOPSHOP’s company – Arcadia Group

is a successful retailer in the UK and have the

potential to be successful in an international

environment . Therefore, an extensive research

into the Taiwanese market is crucial into the

overall marketing strategy.

The research will reflect Taiwanese current

fashion phenomenon and gives a good chance

if TOPSHOP has any possibility to enter Taiwan

again. cannot deny fast fashion is the current

fashion trend, and TOPSHOP is an emerging

popular brand and will continue to be in the

foreseeable future.

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Acknowledgements

Abstract

Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Research Aims & Objects

Chapter 2 Methodology 2.1 Research Framework

2.2 Literature Review

2.3 Questionnaire

2.4 Interviews

2.5 Limitations

Chapter 3 Literature Review 3.1 Introduction

3.2 Consumer Behaviour

3.3 Taiwanese Consumer Behaviour

3.4 Current Fashion phenomenon in Taiwan – Fast Fashion

3.5 The Japanese influence

3.6 International Business

3.7 International marketing

3.8 Marketing Mix

3.9 Privately-owned companies

3.10 UK companies’ experience of entering the Taiwanese marke

Chapter 4 Background 4.1 The British high-street fashion : TOPSHOP

4.2 The relationship of Arcadia Group and TOPSHOP

CONTENTS02040608

10

14

24

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4.3 A typical case –TOPSHOP in Taiwan

4.3.1 TOPSHOP has been to Taiwan

4.3.2 Why Taiwanese girl love this British Brand–TOPSHOP

4.3.3 Why did TOPSHOP not work well in Taiwan

4.4 A successful case–TOPSHOP in Japan

Chapter 5 Primary Research

5.1 The Influence of Japanese design on the Taiwanese market

5.1.1 How different of clothing style between Japan and Europe

5.1.2 How do Japanese girls dress?

5.2 SWOT COMPARISONS

- TOPSHOP SWOT in UK

- Brands competitors

- TOPSHO SWOT in Taiwan

5.3 Competitor Analysis - which stores are major competitor?

Chapter 6 Market analysis

6.1.1 Online Questionnaire analysis

6.1.2 Questionnaire analysis

6.1.3 Interviews

6.1.4 Taiwanese females’ customer behaviour

Chapter 7 Discussion and Conclusion

Chapter 8 Recommendations

References

List of illustrations

Bibliography

Appendices

32

48

586203030303

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Aims�●��To determine if the British high street fashion

brand - TOPSHOP, can enter the Taiwanese

market again and be successful this time;

●��To find the way to create a better marketing

strategy in international business;

●��To explore the shopping environment and

consumer behaviour in Taiwan;

●��To acquire an in-depth understanding of the

trend which affects Taiwanese fashion;

●��To research what Taiwanese people would

like if European brands want to enter the

Taiwanese market;

●��To acquire an in-depth knowledge of how the

current economic environment is affecting

Taiwanese consumers’ behaviour;

●��To propose recommendations for TOPSHOP

who wants to re-launch and develop in Taiwan.

Objectives●��To investigate the reasons why Taiwan is

affected by fashion culture from Japan and the

UK;

●��To examine the types of current shopping

environments in Taiwan;

●��To explain the influence of Japanese culture on

Taiwan;

●��To explore why the fashion style of Taiwan,

Japan and the UK is quite similar;

●��To determine if British brands are likely to be

accepted by Taiwanese people if they follow

the latest trend of fast fashion;

●��To analyse why TOPSHOP failed in Taiwan,

when other European brands succeeded;

●��To determine whether TOPSHOP has a second

chance to enlarge its Asian market in Taiwan,

according to its previous experience.

1. Research Aims & Objectives

Figure 2

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helps form an academic understanding of

sustainable development, the Europe high –

fashion background and Taiwanese local market

environment issue.

2.3 QuestionnairesT h i s p h a s e s h o w i n g a n i n t e r e s t i n g

observation. Apart from two different type

questionnaires, first one is online question which

ask Taiwanese do they familiar with TOPSHOP

and how their consumer behaviour in TOPSHOP.

The other one is put two similar dressing photos

which from TOPSHOP products and Taiwanese

shopping website. This way is propose to analysis

how Taiwanese customer choose products

when they face almost the same products but

different price and quality. The result show the

first condition Taiwanese customer consider

is how a product fashionable is, secondary

condition is quality then the last is price. By

these questionnaires, it means Taiwanese market

is quite flexibility and people can accept new

thoughts in design style, is not everything.

2.4 InterviewsThere are two people do the interviews for

this project. Both of them are work in fashion

field, one is Taiwanese local fashion news

journalist and the other one is international

fashion news reporter. They give some good

suggestions for TOPSHOP issue which is that

should they can be successful if they want to

enter Taiwanese market again. Depends on their

individual occupation, they can Symbolize two

different customer groups in Taiwan, one is very

local and traditional and the other one is who

they care price the most.

2.5 LimitationsThe limitation of this project is there is less

information about TOPSHOP in Taiwan. The

main reason is that TOPSHOP went to Taiwan

for a long time ago, it is quite difficult to find

some detail when it was there. Second, the

commercial agent company have no idea about

TOPSHOP, the team who run the TOPSHOP case

has left this company already. Moreover, when

TOPSHOP went to Taiwan, they did not do much

advertising before, that is why most of customer

has no expression about TOPSHOP.

Besides of information is not too much, the

other point is it is TOPSHOP is not really famous in

Taiwan, notlike ZARA or H&M. Taiwanese people

know ZARA and H&M due to this two brands

have shop in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a good

shopping place and nearby Taiwan. Therefore,

Taiwanese is not familiar with TOPSHOP, therefore

it hard to explain how TOPSHOP fashionable is

though it is a high street fashion brand in UK.

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3.1 IntroductionThis chapter is divided into a few parts. The

main concept of understanding Taiwanese consumer

behaviour includes the latest trend, which is fast

fashion, and some basic knowledge of international

business and marketing; and an overview of how

marketing communication contributes to brand

strength, how consumer behaviour variables provide

both a conceptual framework and a strategic

direction for a practical segmentation of the market,

and finally, how a promotion and advertising

strategy can raise the sales volume. Moreover,

the concept of fast fashion can provide some idea

of why European fashion brands work well in the

Taiwanese market, without limited to different

fashion styles or cultural problems. Fashion is almost

the same worldwide, because one country will affect

another, so that there is a mutual relationship in the

international fashion field.

3.2 Consumer BehaviourConsumer behaviour study can be explained

by this sentence: ‘’It is the study of the process

involved when individual or groups select,

purchase, use, or dispose, services, ideas, or

experiences to satisfy needs and desires.’’ Which

is from Rabolt Solomon (2009), especially in

fashion field, Solomon and Rabort said (2004,

p.2) consumer behaviour knowledge provides

basic fashion concepts that should help you

understand how consumers make decisions

about new fashion products.

Consumer behaviour in fashion is always

based on the theories of consumer behaviour. It

analyses the target customers for some particular

brands or fashion companies. According to Robolt

Solomon (2009, p.28),consumers’ response is the

final test of whether or not a marketing strategy

will be successful, of course this is not the only

Figure 5

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way to evaluate a marketing strategy. Basically,

consumer behaviour is a primary step to select

appropriate marketing strategies to increase

product sales.

‘’Consumer behaviour Is a process’’, ‘’Most

markets now recognize that consumer behaviour

is an on-going process, not merely what happens

at the moment a consumer hands over money or

a credit card and in turn receives some good or

service. ’’ from Solomon and Rabort (2004, p.28).

This is an interesting situation in the buying

process, from a consumer perspective, most of

them will think about why they need a product,

and how to collect related information about this

product that they want to purchase. Then, when

they get the ideal product they choose, the result

will show in their mind: Is it a good purchasing

experience or not? Moreover, they will be sure

the product provides pleasure or perform its

intended function. In addition, the environment

consequences of this act are important as well.

However, form a market perspective, the

first pre- purchase issue is ‘’How are consumers

attitude toward a product formed and/or

changed? What cues do consumers use to infer

which products are superior to others?’’ from

Solomon and Rabort (2004, p.28). Also, when

they enter the purchasing stage, they will think

of how to do a situational factors and how their

store display will affect the consumers’ purchase

decision. This is a mutually correspondence for

consumer and market.

In consumer behaviour research, demographic

subcultures should be an important part. As my

project research, I must not only research British

brands but I also need to understand Taiwanese

consumer behaviour in demographic subcultures

in depth.

What is demography? Simple to explain, it

includes age, race and ethnicity. As Solomon and

Rabort explained: ‘’The era in which a consumer

is born creates for that person a cultural bond

with the millions of others born during the same

time period. As we grow older, our needs and

preferences change, often in unison with those

of others who are close to our own age. For this

reason, a consumer’s age exerts a significant

influence on his or her identify.’’ (2009, p.28-

29). By demographic research, people can make

a detailed analyse of consumer behaviour and

customer level.

3.3 Taiwanese ConsumerBehaviour

As some online reports (Fashionguide, 2008)

people can find a special condition showed in

Taiwanese customer’s behaviour, which is the

key reason connected with a question- why many

famous western brands cannot earn money on

the Taiwanese market?

In the past, for most of Taiwanese customers,

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people love shopping in department store. There

are SOGO, Breeze Centre, New SOGO and many

else, they used to buy much stuff in department

stores because it is very convenient and there

is a wide choice. Taiwanese department stores

always operate quite brilliantly; they collect

some top brands worldwide such as LV, Gucci,

Prada or Chloe. Moreover, they have Japanese

brands—this is a Taiwanese favourite, such as

MUJI, UNIQLO or Plaza. (Blackwhitebuyer, 2008)

People love to spend lots of money to buy a Birkin

bag, however they don’t want to spend money in

a designer’s T-shirt that can cost £25~£40, likes

TOPSHOP.

In Taiwan, people can spend a little money

but buy good stuff in department stores, night

market or online shopping, the average price for

a T-shirt, is around £5-£15 is, up to £20 is a little

expensive for Taiwanese general customers.

This is why ZARA and H&M cannot develop in

Taiwan until now (includes TOPSHOP, even it has

been to Taiwan for long time ago). For Taiwanese

customers, those Europe brands are famous

and fresh, people can skim over fashion stuffs

in magazines, online websites or introduced

by superstars and famous people. Fashion

information runs very fast in Taiwan, which is

the main reason why people are always looking

forward for those brands entering Taiwan. But, it

is a myth, Taiwanese people are crazy about the

latest things, however when time passes by, they

Figure 6

Figure 8

Figure 7

Figure 9

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still go back to shopping on local market, low

price still is the first thing they consider, and of

course quality is not bad unless the price is very,

very low.

Nevertheless, this situation becomes

di f ferent . Fo l lowing media repor ts and

advertisements (Tao Fu won, 2007), Taiwanese

people is in a period, which is starting to know

what is Fast Fashion. Consumer level upgrades

to young people area, they collect fashionable

information by first hand, advocating western

fashion style not just limited in Japanese style,

when Taiwanese people saw a news-TOPSHOP

into TOYKO in September 2010, they thought of

why doesn’t TOPSHOP entre Taiwan. However,

there is no evidence that shows that if TOPSHOP

tries to entre Taiwan again, should they be

successful or still impossible earn money likes

before? Taiwanese clothing market is changing

too fast during recent years, the clothing market

seems already full, but still have many people

hope that European brands enter into Taiwan to

keep up with the world. (Tao Fu won, 2007)

3.4 Current Fashion pheno-menon in Taiwan – Fast Fashion

Fast Fashion is a key word to affect

Taiwanese Fashion. The ephemeral nature of

fashion ensures that what is" in" one minute is

pass the next. Fast fashion, capitalizes on this

need to keep pace with constantly changing

trends by providing high fashion clothing at a low

price point. Quick production methods and up

to the minute design values are integral factors

to fast fashion's success, influence and retail

dominance.

Fast fashion rel ies on an accelerated

rate of clothing production and distribution

known as "quick response." Streamlining the

manufacturing process allows clothing to go

from design to shop floor in as little as two

weeks. Each style is created in limited amounts

or "runs". Which for the customer, creates the

sense that they must buy immediately rather

than risk missing out on a particular item. This in

turn eliminates the need for retailers to discount

unsold stock. The constant restocking of new

clothing also provides customers with an added

reason to revisit stores and repeat the retail

experience (Fast Fashion 2009).

Highly fashionable design is the second

component of fast fashion. This is achieved by

anticipating shifts in industry and consumer

trends. Copied garments tend to provide the bulk

of design ideas. For example, clothing seen on

the catwalks of international fashion shows can

be copied and appear in stores, quicker than the

designer original. As can copies of celebrities'

outfits at red carpet events. (Fast Fashion, 2009)

Italian clothing company Benetton was the

pioneer of fast fashion. Current prominent brands

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include Sweden's H & M, England's Top Shop and

American retailers the Gap. However Spanish

label Zara is the undisputed giant. Zara's fast

production values, store deliveries of new stock

twice a week and their ability to quickly identify

fashion trends have ensured that Zara has become

the most successful fast fashion label.

More, there is an intersection between fast

and high fashion. Traditionally fashion designers

presented two seasonal collections a year, but

in line with fast fashion's short attention span

and constant need for fashion reinvention, high

fashion designers are adding more collections,

like for example, resort wear to their repertoire.

The collaborations between high and fast

fashion companies has created a hybrid between

these two areas of fashion. H &M, has been

at the forefront, working with designers Stella

McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, Comme Des Garcons

and more recently Lanvin. Valentino is the

latest design house to produce a limited edition

collection with The Gap.

F a s t f a s h i o n h a s b e c o m e a r e t a i l

phenomenon. It has speed up the pace of fashion

and the frequency with which we shop and

ultimately impacted on fashion in the broader

sense. Clothing by high fashion designers was

previously exclusive to only the wealthy, but

the egalitarian nature of fast fashion has given

everyone the ability to own designer clothing.

(Fast Fashion 2009)

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

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3.5 The Japanese influence The Japanese culture began to influence

Taiwan many years ago. An article by Rubinstein

(2007) indicated that Taiwan had been under

Japanese colonial rule for a fifty-one year period

from 1845 to 1945. During the time Taiwan

was a colony of Japan, the Taiwanese were

forced to accept Japanese education and use

Japanese as their first language. Meanwhile,

the Japanese government developed the

infrastructure of Taiwan, such as transport,

harbours, agriculture, architecture, and water

conservation reservoirs. Although Taiwan was a

colony of a foreign regime, the older generation

of Taiwan did not really dislike the Japanese,

and a close relationship developed between

Taiwan and Japan. In fact, during the fifty years

of colonisation, Taiwanese culture adopted parts

of Japanese culture.

Japanese dramas have had a steady audience

since Taiwan repealed its law prohibiting the

broadcasting of Japanese dramas in 1993.

The beautiful and fantastic urban setting and

solid storylines of Japanese “trendy dramas”

attracted Taiwanese teenagers to Japanese

fashion and trendy music, and then created a

Japanese sightseeing boom. (Kim, 2005) After

Japanese dramas began to gain popularity,

Japanese clothes, fashions, and styles also

became popular. Because the Japanese cultural

phenomenon affects Taiwanese culture in depth,

“made in Japan” is almost like a guarantee in

the Taiwanese market. Because of this principle,

Japanese brands usually sell well in Taiwan,

and Taiwanese enterprises are willing to adopt

Japanese marking strategies as a good model.

3.6 International BusinessIn an article by Sletten, (1994, p.117)

international business is discussed, particularly

focusing on the reasons for entering international

markets: he asks the question “Why export?”

and suggests that “There are hundreds of

reasons; all of them valid, but the principle one

is business survival.” In a recession economy,

consumers tend to be more sensitive about price,

and have been cutting down on non-essential

spending and women’s wear. When the domestic

market conditions lead to a decrease in revenue,

exports can help to minimize the impact and get

a broader marketing bass (Business Insights,

2009).

3.7 International marketingInternational marketing communication

m a n a g e m e n t d i f f e r s f r o m d o m e s t i c

communication management in that one has

to operate in a different environment with

different demographic, economic, geographic,

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technological, political, and legal conditions.

Culture and legal differences between a

company and its foreign marketplace can

cause many problems and difficulties. Due

to differences in the international marketing

environment, a company has to consider what

extent should it localize or globalize its marketing

communications across different cultures

(Pelsmacker et al., 2004).

3.8 Marketing Mix Marketing is the process of planning and

executing the conception, pricing, promotion

and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to

create and exchange value, and satisfy individual

and organizational objectives (Pelsmacker et al.,

2004).

The tools of marketing plan have to be

designed depending on the given marketing

objectives and goals, then the target segments

and the market position that has to be defined.

The marketer can create the instrument of

the marketing mix to communication with

consumers. Traditionally, these instruments are

defined into four categories, called the four Ps of

the marketing mix. In table 2.2 some of the tools

of the marketing mix are shown (Pelsmacker et

al., 2004).

3.9 Privately-owned companies

A pr ivate ly -he ld company or c losed

corporation is a business, which is owned

either by a non-governmental organisation or

a relatively small number of shareholders or

company members, and which does not offer or

trade its company stock (shares) to the general

public on the stock market. Rather, the company's

stock is offered, owned and traded or exchanged

privately. Less ambiguous terms for a privately-

held company are an unquoted company and an

unlisted company. (Mintel)

In most cases, the company is owned by the

company's founders, management, or a group

of private investors. On the other hand, a public

Product Price Place Promotion

●�Benefits

●�Features

●�Options

●�Quality

●�Design

●�Branding

●�Packaging

●�Services

●�Warranties

●�List price

●�Discount

●�Credit terms

●�Payment

●�Periods

●�Incentives

●�Channels

●�Logistics

●�Inventory

●�Transport

●�Assortments

●�Locations

●�Advertising

●�Public relations

●�Sponsorship

●�Sales promotions

●�Directing marketing

●�Point-of- purchase

●�Exhibition and trade fairs

●�Personal selling

●�Internet

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company is a company that has sold a portion of

itself to the public via an initial public offering

of some of its stock, meaning that shareholders

have a claim to part of the company's assets and

profits. The main advantage of public companies

is their ability to tap the financial markets

by selling stock (equity) or bonds (debt) to

raise capital (i.e. cash) for expansion and projects.

( Investopedia, 2008)

3.10 UK companies’ experienceof entering the Taiwanese market

A ccording to previously reported news

(UK designers invite Taiwanese enterprises

settle design centres, 2009) there are many UK

brands that have already entered Taiwan. In

the technology field, Vodafone is an excellent

case which has a successful cooperation with

Taiwanese local mobile company. In women’s

clothing, Accessorize has been doing well in

the Taiwanese market since 2007. In fashion

clothing field, a big luxurious UK brand-Burberry

is quite popular in Taiwan. Of course they have

many big shops located in department stores.

On the contrary, there are some UK brands that

did not work as well in the Taiwanese market,

such as Marks & Spencer and TOPSHOP. Marks

& Spencer was a special case. The brand stayed

in Taiwan for just two years and therefore had

little chance of being successful in this time. Due

to the brand just stayed in Taiwan not over two

years, which proving it is quite seriously to see

how a brand can be successful in a short time,

if they cannot passes the challenge, would be

failed.

T a i w a n i n c e r t a i n l y a g o o d

m a r k e t f o r p o t e n t i a l i n v e s t m e n t f r o m

E u r o p e a n c o u n t r i e s i n r e c e n t y e a r s

Indeed, Taiwan is a good market which worth to

invest for Europe country in recent years,

‘’ It’s natural trading partners are its neighbours

in north east Asia, and it can be a good stepping

stone to the larger and more complex china

market. Taiwan has a strong trading and

investment relationship with the West, and is

keen to diversify and build on its European links.

Taiwan imported £750m of British goods and

£670m of services in 2009. The UK is highly visible

in the Taiwanese domestic market, though locals

may not realise that names such as Standard

Chartered Bank and HSBC (to name but two

companies with successful operations there) are in

fact British.’’(Doing Business in Taiwan, p4).

For UK brands, Taiwan is a large importer

of goods and services with a high level of

consumption and purchasing power, higher than

the European average. In addition, Taiwan has

an excellent infrastructure and logistics system

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and it is a safe market in terms of intellectual

property protection. Due to these advantages,

British companies wishing to develop their

businesses in the Taiwanese market are advised

to undertake as much market research and

planning as possible in the UK.

It is a big challenge to invest money into the

Taiwanese market indeed, the international road

not to riches – or disaster. Marks & Spencer is a

typical case. According to Sunday Time reported

(Sunday Time, 2009), when Marks & Spencer was

in Taiwan, they have made some mistake:

-Lack of good food department provided in UK.

- Smaller-sized clothes demanded by Chinese

shoppers.

The second prob lem a lso happened

t o T O P S H O P. A c t u a l l y t h e p r o b l e m o f

“size” is connected with market research, or lack

of it. If UK companies had done more in-depth

research and understood the requirements of the

Taiwanese market they may have discovered that

the size difference between Asian and British

people.

However, in recent years, there are some

UK brands starting to go to Taiwan step by step,

such as Ted Baker and Cath Kinston. These two

brands, all located in luxurious department stores

in Taipei, have a different target. Ted Baker is

focus on high-price premium consumer level.

The other is for teenagers or middle-age women.

It is hard to predict just how Cath Kinston will

perform in Taiwan as they have been there for a

limited time. Generally in Taiwan people would

rather spend their money on luxury brands such

as Ted Baker. Taiwanese people think this is a

very typical luxurious brand in the UK. For the

same reasons Taiwanese people love Burberry

and Vivienne Westwood. In fact, Taiwanese

people can find some cheaper brands in the local

market. Because of this they prefer to choose

other middle-price Taiwanese fashion brands

instead of UK fashion brands. (Taipei News, 2010)

To sum up, if a UK company wants to enter

the Taiwanese market, there are some challenges

they have to face in the first instance (UK

designers invite Taiwanese enterprises settle

design centres, 2009):

1. language barrier (most local information is in

Chinese)

2. local regulations are very different from

European standards

3.building up relationships

4.Taiwanese market research

5. In addition, The Taiwanese authorities welcome

foreign investment where it helps the economic

and social development of Taiwan, or involves

hi-tech research and development.

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4.1 The British high-streetfashion : TOPSHOP

TOPSOP has established a reputation for

fashion credibility by converting catwalk styles

into affordable clothing aimed primarily at

13-25-year-olds.The consumers rate it above the

average for clothing stores on the characteristics

‘trendy’, ‘trendsetting’ and ‘stylish’. It has

cultivated an image of affordable, ephemeral

fashion linked to celebrity.

From 2007 to September 2010, the store

collaborated with Kate Moss on collections

carrying her name. Artist Stella Vine and the

Shiatzy Chen brand have also previously worked

on collaborations. Even though such collections

developed with designers are only available in its

flagship store at Oxford Street and online, it has

helped boost the fashion credentials of its more

mainstream collections.

Its recent glamorous store openings, in New

York’s SOHO, London’s Knightsbrige and Tokyo,

have further added to the image of contemporary

fashion and credible chic. Its flagship stores offer

an indulgent but youthful shopping experience

with extra services such as nail bars, one-hour

tailoring and hair salons.

Features of its offer include:

• TOPSHOP’s core range offers a wide range

of clothing including tops, knitwear, dresses,

jackets and blazers, coats, jeans, trousers,

shorts and skirts as well accessories and

footwear. Further ranges include:

• The Boutique collection is geared towards mix-

and-match essentials for long-term usage, with

neutral colours and quality fabrics ensuring

these items can cross seasons for years.

Jumpers and dresses start from £55 with

jackets priced up to £250. These items are likely

to be appreciated by an older consumer than

the core 13-25 demographic.

Figure 15

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• Unique is TOPSHOP’s own premium fashion brand

that was launched in 2001 and has been shown

on the London Fashion Week catwalk schedule

since 2006. This avant-garde brand is also sold

internationally at high-end and directional outlets

such as Barneys in the US. Dresses from £38,

dresses up to £200 and coats up to £250.

• Studio brands is a changing range of concessions

launched in July 2009. Designers here have

included CiCi, Yuki, Annie Greenabelle and

AnnaLou. Primarily available only at the flagship

stores, the range was made available through

topshop.com shortly after its launch.

• The Designers collection features limited edition

collections from designers including Michael Van

Der Ham, Mark Fast, Jensen, Preen, Christopher

Kane, Markus Lupfer and Emma Cook. Pieces

start from £28.

• TOPSHOP also has Tall, Petite, Maternity and

Mini (babywear) ranges, ensuring that the stores

continue to attract a wide range of customers.

• Since 2002, TOPSHOP has offered its own

footwear collection, consisting of strong and

innovative shoe designs. Footwear has also

been included in the Unique and Designers

ranges. Jewellery and accessories such as bags

are also a strong growth category.

• Moto is the core jeans own-brand, but other

well-known jean brands, including Levi’s,

Wrangler, Pepe and Firetrap are also available.

(TOPSHOP websites, 2011)

On the whole, TOPSHOP’s price points are

generally positioned in the middle mainstream

sector. However, some of the brand’s more

exclusive collections such as Unique and

Designers have higher price points.

Brand Position

Target Market

Product sectors

Price Positioning

Competitors

Store Format,

Midmarket, high street fast fashion

Broad target 15-30 females

Core group 18-25 fashion leaders,butattracts a broad range of custom

from designer label shoppers to high street consumers

Women’s clothing & accessories plus footwear

Midmarket. Predominantly non-promotional

Multi-buys on basic jersey tops and knickers

Young fashion high street retailers with a high design content such as

Urban Outfitters, Miss Selfridge, Warehouse, H&M, and All Saints

Oxford Circus and regional flagship stores “provide the ultimate shopping ambience experience”

Stores have a minimalist feel but are not too stark Young, fun, trendy, but not too intimidating

Flagship stores hold events for customers including catwalk shows.

Café bars, chart music

*PropositionTOPSHOP retail proposition 2009

Source: Verdict Research V E R D I C T

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4.2 The relationship of ArcadiaGroup and TOPSHOP

The Arcadia Group comprises eight retail

brands; Burton, TOPMAN, Dorothy Perkins,

Evans, Miss Selfridge, TOPSHOP, Wallis and out-

of-town format Outfit which retails a selection

of these brands as well as other clothing labels.

All brands are positioned in midmarket price

territory, but with different target customers.

The group has built up a vast portfolio of

stores, most – with the exception of Outfit

–situated in high footfall high street locations.

It thereby benefits from great economies of

scale to be further enhanced by the imminent

merger with owner Sir Philip Green’s other retail

business, Bhs. (UK womenwear retailers, 2009

: 85) Their fast-moving business and modern

retailing have become a good sample worldwide.

The past three years, Sir Philip Green has

planned a major innovation of his business

empire that would include spending £370m

growing both the Arcadia and Bhs operations.

In all the brands of Arcadia Group, TOPSHOP is

selling the best. Much of the expenditure will go

on TOPSHOP, the biggest stable brand within the

Arcadia. (FashionUnited, 2007)

In 2007, despite a drop in operating profit

of 8.1 percent to £300.6 for the year ended 2

September, retail tycoon Sir Philip Green remains

upbeat about Arcadia Group's performance. "Our

operating margin at 16.7 percent is still among

the best in the industry," he said. Group sales

rose 1.8 percent to £1.8 billion, while like-for-like

sales dropped 1.9 percent. Pre-tax profits fell £24.3

million to £357.5 million. Green maintained the

results were buoyant despite a challenging retail

climate. "This represents a strong performance

when set against a competitive retail market,

significant investment in new space by our

competitors, and underlying costs inflation for

retailers." Richard Ratner, analyst at Seymour

Pierce, said that the result was "pretty decent

given the environment." (FashionUnited, 2006)

Moreover, it is worth to know that is the

group's top performers were menswear chain

TOPMAN and Wallis, with Arcadia's best known

brand TOPSHOP continuing to give a strong

performance. Arcadia recently announced the

resignation of Jane Shepherdson, who is the

brand manager for TOPSHOP. Shepherdson was

credited with turning the brand into one of the

most coveted labels on the high street. At the

time, both Green and Shepherdson did their

best to blast the rumours that her departure had

anything to do with the signing of supermodel

Kate Moss to co-develop a line for TOPSHOP.

(FashionUnited, 2006)

In fact, since Philip Green bought TOPSHOP

in 2000, TOPSHOP and TOPMAN created a highly

revenue for Arcadia Group. In 2006, Arcadia was

planned to convert its high profile Miss Selfridge

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4.3 A typical case– TOPSHOP in Taiwan

4.3.1 TOPSHOP has been to Taiwan

Yes, TOPSHOP went to Taiwan during

2000~2002, however they only stayed for short

period of time because they didn’t sell well during

these two year. During that time, they only had

two shops in capital city of Taiwan—Taipei and in

order to obtain Taiwanese young girl’s attention,

they created TOPGIRL for teenage girl in Taiwan.

It only attracted some specific groups of people

who have known TOPSHOP for a long time. But,

for most general people, TOPSHOP is just a quite

expensive British brand and their items are not

suitable for Taiwanese people.

4.3.2 Why Taiwanese girl love this British Brand

– TOPSHOP

Fast Fashion is the latest trend worldwide,

and of course will be found in Taiwan too. During

recent years, Europe fashion style influenced

Taiwanese girl deeply. Many western models

have become Taiwanese female consumer’s

fashion icon, such as Kate Moss, Agyness Deyn,

whom all have obvious individual characteristics.

Their styles showing modern girl’s independence

spirit by mixing sexy or vintage elements, so

more and more girls have started to learn their

dressing style, and TOPSHOP has reflected this

phenomenon. The other reason is that TOPSHOP

promoted their seasonal items very fast. People

can see their items from shop window or online

websites, TOPSHOP seems to become dream for

young girl because they all want to dress well

likes Kate Moss.

4.3.3 Why did TOPSHOP not work well in

Taiwan

During that time, Taiwanese people cannot

accept such a fashionable brand into their local

market. People still prefer to buy Japanese

brands and fashion brands from Europe are still

Latest year-end:August 2009

2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09

Group sales (£m excl. VAT) 1,770 1,801 1,859 1,848 1,979 (a)

Group sales (€m excl. VAT) 2,586 2,643 2,718 2,321 2,224

Operating profit (£m) 320 272 263 243 235

Operating margin (%) 18.1 15.1 14.1 13.1 11.9

Figure: Arcadia Group: Group financial performance, 2004/05-2008/09

From Mintel - Clothing Retailing - UK - October 2010

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