LYDIA SLATER SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY BA FASHION MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION
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BRAND MARKETING REPORT
SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY TOPSHOP BRAND MARKETING REPORT BY LYDIA SLATER BA FASHION MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION The candidate confirms that the work submitted is their own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. 28/02/19
CONTENTS
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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE BRAND 6 3. MACRO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS 3.1 POLITICAL 7 3.2 ECONOMIC 3.3 SOCIAL 3.4 TECHNOLOGICAL 8 3.5 ENVIRONMENTAL 3.6 LEGAL 4. BRAND MARKET POSITION 4.1 STRENGTHS 4.2 WEAKNESSES 4.3 OPPORTUNITIES 4.4 THREATS
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5. COMPETITORS 12 5.1 BRAND POSITIONING MAP 13 6. CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHIC 16 7. PRODUCT SELECTION 18 8. SOCIAL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER MARKETING
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9. MARKETING MIX 9.1 PRODUCT 9.2 PRICE 9.3 PLACE 9.4 PROMOTION
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10. PROPOSED STRATEGY
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11. BIBLIOGRAPHY
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12. APPENDICES 31-32 2
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this report is to look at what Topshop is currently doing in terms of their brand strategy and where they are currently positioned in the fashion market. In order to collect information on the brand, both primary and secondary research was used to back up findings. For primary research, we created a survey which was answered by the public, mainly people of their target market. For secondary research, we used online databases like Mintel and news articles and company websites. The main finding was that Topshop’s consumers were losing interest and moving away from the brand. From the research and consumer feedback we were able to make recommendations for the brand, for them to reach out to both new and existing target markets.
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INTRODUCTION TO THE BRAND Topshop describes itself as a destination for fashion and beauty that connects women with the new and the next style and culture, as well as the original champion of individuality. (Arcadia Group Ltd. 2019)
For this report, we have been asked to explore Topshop as a brand, the products they offer, their current consumers, and how they operate within the fashion marketplace. We also investigated the factors which may have affected their success and brand differentiation. The reason for doing this is to identify their current positioning amongst its competitors and to advise Topshop on how they can revive their brand, in order to boost sales and reputation. We are trying to answer the question of why Topshop’s sales are rapidly declining and how to overcome this problem. The starting point for the report was to research into what Topshop is currently doing, what it is doing wrong and what they are missing as a brand. Topshop need to give their consumers a reason to shop with them and can keep their loyalty.
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MACRO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
3.1 POLITICAL
Topshop has constantly been criticised for its skinny models and mannequins, giving off a bad image to women on how they should look. With Denise Hatton, founding partner of the body image campaign Be Real (Telegraph 2017), saying “young women and girls are presented with an ‘ideal’ body type that’s unrealistic and unhealthy”. We asked the public what they thought about this subject and 69% believed Topshop should use more realistic sized mannequins and models. (Graph 1 – Survey). The brand has also been under allegations of labour abuses, including unfair wages and poor working conditions in its factories. Both of these political factors could have damaged Topshop’s reputation by putting many consumers off purchasing from the brand and could lead to future consequences due to the bad message it gives out.
3.2 ECONOMIC Topshop announced they had made a £10.9 million loss in the year 2017, even though making a £59.4 million profit the year before. This could be partly to do with the rise in online shopping as older retailers battle to compete with digital retailing. (Sophie Christie - The Telegraph, 2018). The online shopping market is constantly increasing; therefore, this could lead to the closure of Topshop stores on the high street as they are losing consumer footfall each year.
3.3 SOCIAL
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Women aged 16-44 tend to spend more money on clothes than older women (Mintel Academic 2018), which includes Topshop’s current target market. This shows they have consumer audience that is invested in spending money in the fashion industry. However, Topshop try to aim their products at students, which don’t tend to have a reasonably high disposable income to spend on clothing, from our survey 76% thought that Topshop products were over-priced. (Graph 2 – Survey). Because of this, Topshop could end up losing all its popularity with students and young people as their products are just not affordable for them.
3.4 TECHNOLOGICAL Over the last few years, there has been an increased popularity in social media and online shopping. Topshop have an advantage in this sector as they have a website and app, as well as several social media accounts including Instagram. Meaning its customers are able to keep up to date with new products and offers. Also, Topshop recently produced the Topshop Unique campaign which featured a live shopping fashion show which allowed customers to purchase clothing as it was going down that catwalk. Topshop need to keep up with the latest technology to showcase their brand in order to gain constant interest with the consumer.
3.5 ENVIRONMENTAL Topshop state in their Fashion Footprint Report (2017) that they aim to manufacture their products in an ethical and responsible way across all processes. They strive to improve the sustainability of their clothing across the product lifecycle. They have many long-term commitments such as lowering consumption of energy and water across its warehouses, offices and stores, as well as recycling 95% of waste in its UK stores. Topshop declare that they have banned the use of fur, however they still use leather and wool without providing details from where they are sourced. (Lara Robertson, 2018). By not giving information for where specific materials are sourced, gives a bad impression against the brand as consumers become unsure if the processes are ethical.
3.6 LEGAL In 2013, Topshop faced a legal battle with singer, Rihanna, after they used an image of her on a T-shirt, they sold to thousands of customers which cost the company £3.3 million. Customers were led to believe she had endorsed the top however it was made and sold without her approval or knowledge. (Martin Robinson for Mail Online, 2015). As well as this, Topshop’s company owner, Philip Green, was addressed by an activist group, UK Uncut. The group broadcast that the company was avoiding tax in addition to providing poor working conditions and paying unfair wages to UK and overseas workers. (Eluxemagazine, 2017). Again, these legal issues would have had a negative effect on Topshop’s sales as customers would have been put off shopping with the brand during the time of these problems.
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BRAND MARKET POSITION
4.1 STRENGTHS Topshop’s most noticeable strength is that they have
gained a strong customer base from their previous success and provide a range of products, including tops, trousers, jeans and coats. Therefore, customers are able to purchase a whole outfit from the store. Also, they offer a discount of 10% to students which draws them in to shop there, instead of shopping with competitors like Zara who don’t offer student discount. Their denim collection has been one of the biggest successes, in the year of 2017 Topshop sold a pair of jeans globally every 10 seconds, while the flagship Oxford Street store sells one per minute alone. (Landon Peoples – Refinery 29, 2017)
4.2 WEAKNESSES We believe that one of the main weaknesses of the
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brand is their website/app presence. From our survey, 43% of people said they see it as on-trend however, 19% of people said that it was boring and a further 10% said it was hard to use (Graph 3 - Survey). Topshop use a very simple and colourless style, with white and black being the main colour scheme. Topshop also tend to use the same style for shooting the products, where models stand in the same poses for different items with a plain white background. As online shopping is currently the most popular way of purchasing goods, their online competitors like PrettyLittleThing.com have a colourful, engaging site which highly attracts consumers. Another weakness with Topshop is the high price points they are charging for items which are lower quality then their competitors. From our survey, 55% said that they believe that only selected Topshop products are of a high quality in terms of fabrics and manufacturing. (Graph 4 - Survey)
4.3 OPPORTUNITIES An opportunity of Topshop is to provide a free delivery service all year round for their customers to their home in order to increase the online sales, as at the moment this comes at a £4 charge. To increase online spending through their website, Topshop could use catwalk videos of the products. Therefore, customers can see how the product looks on a moving body. In order to attract a whole range of women, Topshop could introduce a plus size/curves range specifically for this kind of market. As currently they only have collections for petite, tall and maternity.
4.4 THREATS One of Topshop’s main threats is from its high street competitors like Zara and H&M, these brands have products which target several market segments, including children’s ranges and home ranges. This gives these brands an advantage, and consumers are drawn to the availability of getting everything they need from one place. Their other main threat is the many online only brands, like Boohoo, In the Style and Prettylittlething.com. These online brands have a strong social media presence with engaging posts and a high following.
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CURRENT MARKET POSITION AND COMPETITORS SHOWING TOPSHOP’S MAIN THREE HIGH STREET COMPETITORS WHICH OFFER SIMILAR PRODUCTS AND HOW THEY ADVERTISE
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COMPETITORS Zara is Topshop’s most direct competitor as they have similar products at a matching high price point. Even though Zara has lower levels of customer usage than Topshop, Zara still has the highest number of customers that would recommend the brand (Mintel Academic 2018), and it is seen as being the most stylish and exclusive out of all the fast fashion retailers. Meaning Zara has more noticeable differentiation in their products. H&M are another one of Topshop’s competitors which offer a lower price point. It is seen by the public as the most reliable retailer and is very accessible. However, the brand can be seen as more basic and less exciting than Topshop. (Mintel Academic 2018) H&M seem to be always collaborating with different brands like Moschino in 2018, Karl Lagerfeld in 2004 and Comme des Garcons in 2008. Having collaborations with high end brands will appeal to consumers because of the luxury name and bring in more profit. Topshop also have a lot of competition from online retailers like ASOS, In the Style and PrettlyLittleThing.com. These brands have the advantage of their online only presence, as they give customers the access to browse a wider range of products as opposed to in-store. As well as offering product reviews and fast delivery without even leaving the house.
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HIGH PRICE
LOW QUALITY
HIGH QUALITY
LOW PRICE
5.1 BRAND POSITIONING MAP This brand positioning map shows where Topshop sit against its competitors from the perception of its customers, in relation to the quality and the price of products that each brand sells. The map shows that its main competitors are Zara, H&M and ASOS.
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CURRENT CUSTOMER DEMOGRAPHIC SHOWING TOPSHOP’S CURRENT TARGET MARKET ALONGSIDE THEIR LIFESTYLE AND PERSONALITY
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CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHIC
Topshop and their products currently target mainly young women between the ages of 15-30, which includes ‘Generation Z’, of middle to upper class. The women they target tend to be fashion forward and look for the newest trends. Topshop focus on driving the idea of being able to create a look of your own. This would suggest that their customers were not what you’d call mainstream and aren’t afraid to be the one to set the trend (Topshop Yellow Group 2018). However, we disagree with this as many of Topshop’s consumers do come across as mainstream because they are all buying the same specific products in a certain price range, therefore all looking the same. Topshop appeals to many teenagers, especially students as they produce ‘fast fashion’, meaning they can quickly pick up new trends as soon as they are seen on the catwalk. Their consumers have a medium income as Topshop’s products have a mid-high price range depending on the specific product. The location of most Topshop stores tends to be on high streets in towns and cites or in shopping centres, this makes it more accessible and appealing for consumers living in these central areas. Therefore, consumers living in smaller towns and villages have less access to the brands stores, leading them to shop elsewhere or at competitor brands. From the primary research, we discovered that on average a Topshop store was within a 10-mile radius to the public.(Graph 5 - Survey)
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PRODUCT SELECTION Topshop offers a range of products to its customers, everything you need for an outfit, head to toe in one store. Which includes tops, trousers, jeans, jackets, coats and shoes. As well as their own branded products, Topshop also sells many well-known brands like Adidas and Calvin Klein, these are all featured online but only in selected stores. However, Topshop have one specific item that is there best seller, which is the denim jeans. Globally they sell a pair of jeans every 10 seconds and one per minute at their flagship store on Oxford Street, London (Laura Capon, Cosmopolitan, 2017). Yet these jeans aren’t the cheapest and not the best quality on the market, though customers are still committed to buying the brands denim. The pricing of their products can range anything from £3 to £350 (Topshop, 2018) depending on the product that you are buying. However most new in best seller items are above £30 giving the brand a mid to high price point. Having high prices makes it less appealing to young people and students as they have a less disposable income to spend on themselves compared to adults.
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SOCIAL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER MARKETING
For e-commerce, Topshop uses their website and an application version. This features all of their current products which customers are able to purchase and have delivered to their home address or collect in a chosen store. For the website, Topshop tend to use banners and campaign photoshoots on their home screen page, displaying offers and current trends at the time. They display their products on the website in a blank, colourless and un-engaging way, compared to their bright home page. The models all stand in similar, straighton poses, and are shot on a plain white background. Unlike their competitors who are using more colourful layouts and interesting shots of the products. Again, with the app which is alike to the website, very blank, with the colour only coming from the products. However, the categories are clearer than on the website as they are supported with an image. The products are still displayed the same and in the same layout. From the survey, the feedback was that people found the website on-trend, but they also described it as boring and hard to use (Graph 3 – Survey). In spite of that, the navigation buttons at the bottom of the app make it easier for customers to explore the site, as they are able to view their bag quickly and make wish lists. For their social media presence Topshop tends to focus on Instagram as their main social page, as it has the most following of 9.6m (Topshop Instagram Account, 2019) and Topshop post more content on there than any other of their sites. Their Instagram feed is busy and colourful which is the complete opposite to the website and app. Although, it is quite messy in terms of posts that aren’t related being posted alongside one another. Topshop tend to use Instagram influencers posts of them wearing their products by reposting them on their own feed. They do this by creating the hashtag, #TopshopStyle and encouraging customers to upload images using it. The influencers they use usually are young fashionable women with a strong following.
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CURRENT SOCIAL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER MARKETING SHOWING THEIR CURRENT STRATERGY AND HOW THEY ADVERTISE PRODUCTS USING INFLUENCERS
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MARKETING MIX 9.1 PRODUCT Topshop have a wide range of products which includes clothing, shoes, accessories, underwear, nightwear and makeup. Topshop sits in the category for fast fashion with products being made reasonably well but some better than others. They have different collections to cater for petite, tall and maternity, with clothing size ranging from 4-18 and shoes size ranging from 35-42 European size (Topshop, 2019). Topshop offer many other different brands within the store such as Adidas, Skinny-dip and Ivy Park. The brand has recently changed their labelling to white with the logo in black writing and this is consistent with the swing ticket on garments.
9.2 PRICE Their price point sits at mid to high end in the high street market, compared to competitors like New Look and H&M, which have a lower price point than Topshop, but they are still all fast fashion brands producing similar products at different qualities. Products at Topshop can range anything from around £3 up to around £800 for special limited-edition products. However, the majority of products bought by customers are around £15-£90, for popular items like jeans, tops and coats.(Topshop, 2019)
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9.3 PLACE
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Topshop stores are commonly located on the high streets of town and city centres as well as in shopping centres across the UK. They have over 300 standalone stores in the UK and over 200 stores internationally (Topshop, 2019). Topshop also have concessions as part of many department stores like Debenhams and John Lewis. As well as physical stores, they also have an online presence through their website and app which allows customers to scroll through all the products available and purchase products online.
9.4 PROMOTION Topshop offer a discount of 10% for students all year round, as this is their main target market and consumer. They also have events and higher rate discounts throughout the year especially for students and young people. Also, during the year they have many promotions which include offers like, 20% off coats in winter periods for example, which are available for a certain time period. Their advertising is mainly online using their main social media platform, Instagram which has over 9.6 million followers (Topshop Instagram Account, 2019), to show new products and release campaigns. Topshop try to encourage customers to share images of them wearing their products using #TopshopStyle or tagging @Topshop in order of customer promotion.
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RECOMMENDATIONS Introducing a plus size range would give Topshop an advantage as it would attract a new target market and encourage new customer spending. At the moment, the brand doesn’t accommodate for this market and these consumers are shopping at competitor stores instead of Topshop, as they are providing products for their needs. If Topshop created this new range, it is recommended that they reduce the number of external brands they sell. This would give them more store space for the new range and give them chance to focus on their own lines. Otherwise, they could increase their sizing range as currently their largest size is 18 (Topshop, 2019). This could be increased to a size 26 to cater for the plus size market and to be in-line with their online competitors like PrettyLittleThing.com. Topshop’s current pricing is relatively high in terms of the disposable income of their young target market. To keep the interest of their target market, Topshop needs to find a way of decreasing the pricing of their products but keeping the reasonably good quality. Lowering the prices would encourage consumer spending as people would be more willing to spend at the brand and would outcome a boost in sales. At the moment, Topshop use skinny and unrealistic mannequins in all stores across the UK, which could be having a serious effect on young women’s self-confidence. Topshop also use ‘size 0’ models for their product shoots featured on the website and in their fashion campaigns. Topshop should start using more realistic sized models, around size 10-12, in order to give the brand a good image and to promote body positivity. Doing this would make their customers feel confident in themselves when purchasing products as they are seeing an unidealistic view of body image.
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PROPOSED CONSUMER DEMOGRAPHIC SHOWING HOW TOPSHOP SHOULD BE TARGETING A RANGE OF WOMEN OF DIFFERENT AGES, BODYSHAPES AND SIZES
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PROPOSED SOCIAL MEDIA AND INFLUENCER MARKETING. CREATING A NEW LOOK WHICH IS COLOURFUL AND MORE ENGAING WITH CONSUMERS 25
In order to increase popularity in Topshop’s online presence, the website and application version needs a completely new look. Currently their website is mainly black and white with odd bits of colour coming from banners and products. To make their website more engaging with the consumer they should introduce a brand-new bright colour scheme including the logo, making the look of the page more exciting. They could also re-shoot the products, making the images more editorial and fun instead of simple, straight-on poses. As a new feature for the website, Topshop should allow customers to make reviews and comments alongside products they have purchased. These are then displayed online for potential customers to read before purchasing products. Having reviews will give customers an insight into what people think of the products in terms of quality, fit, colour for example. Therefore, if products have good reviews, consumers are more likely to buy the product because they know what they are buying and are less likely to return it. This feature will also increase online spending as consumers are being encouraged to buy, meaning a rise in overall sales.
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PROPOSED MARKET POSITION AND COMPETITORS. SHOWING MAIN HIGHSTREET STORES AS WELL AS ONLINE BRANDS AND HOW THEY ENGAGE THEIR CUSTOMERS
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arcadia Group Ltd. (2017). Fashion Footprint Report. [ONLINE] Available at: http://arcadiafashionfootprint.co.uk/. [Accessed 18 January 2019]. Arcadia. (2019). Arcadia Topshop. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.arcadiagroup.co.uk/brands/topshop. [Accessed 22 January 2019]. Denise Hatton. (2017). Topshop criticised by parents for ‘too-thin’ mannequins which ‘look like famine victims. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/05/topshop-criticised-parents-too-thin-mannequins-looklike-famine/ [Accessed 10 January 2019]. Eluxemagazine. (2017). Why Topshop Is Unethical Fashion At Its Worst. [ONLINE] Available at: https://eluxemagazine. com/magazine/topshop/ [Accessed 25 January 2019]. Landon Peoples - Refinery 29. (2017). Topshop Sells This Item Every Ten Seconds. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www. refinery29.com/en-us/2017/02/142395/topshop-best-selling-item-denim. [Accessed 21 January 2019]. Lara Robertson. (2018). How Ethical Is Topshop? [ONLINE] Available at: https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-topshop/. [Accessed 24 January 2019]. Laura Capon, Cosmopolitan. (2017). This is the one item Topshop sells every 10 seconds. [ONLINE] Available at: https:// www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/fashion/news/a50139/most-popular-item-topshop/. [Accessed 5 February 2019]. Martin Robinson for Mail Online. (2015). Rihanna wins £3million legal battle against high street chain Topshop as judge rules store did not have right to sell T-shirt her face on it without asking permission. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2921587/Pop-star-Rihanna-wins-legal-battle-against-high-street-chain-Topshop-judgesrule-store-did-not-right-sell-T-shirt-face-without-asking-permission.html. [Accessed 24 January 2019]. Mintel Academic. (2018). Brand Research. [ONLINE] Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/display/926106/?highlight#hit1. [Accessed 19 January 2019]. Mintel Academic. (2018). What Fashion Items Women Buy and How Much They Spend. [ONLINE] Available at: http:// academic.mintel.com/display/896740/?highlight#hit1. [Accessed 16 January 2019]. Sophie Christie - The Telegraph. (2018). Topshop posts £10.9m loss as it grapples with tough retail environment. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/05/23/topshop-posts109m-loss-grapples-tough-retail-environment/. [Accessed 24 January 2019] Topshop Instagram Account. 2019. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/topshop/?hl=en. [Accessed 14 February 2019]. Topshop Yellow Group. (2018). Fashion Target Market. [ONLINE] Available at: https://sites.google.com/site/topshopyellowgroup/fashion-target-market. [Accessed 14 January 2019]. Topshop. (2019). Topshop. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.topshop.com/. [Accessed 5 February 2019].
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FIGURE 1 Photographed by Giampaolo Sgura, (2017), Topshop Jeans’ Spring-Summer 2017 Campaign [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.fashiongonerogue.com/topshop-jeans-spring-2017-campaign/ [Accessed 10 February 2019]. FIGURE 2 Photographed by Daniel Jackson, (2019), Topshop It Campaign 2019 [ONLINE]. Available at: https://denimology.com/2018/10/topshop-topman-unite-for-fall-winter-19-ad-campaign [Accessed 11 February 2019]. FIGURE 3 Photographed by Tyrone le Bon, (2015), Gigi Hadid’s campaign for Topshop! [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// www.topshop.com/blog/2015/07/introducing-gigi-hadid-for-aw15 [Accessed 11 February 2019]. FIGURE 4 Photographed by Oliver Hadlee, (2018), Topshop & Topman Team Up In New Denim Launch [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2018/02/189652/topshop-topman-denim-ss18-campaign [Accessed 11 February 2019]. FIGURE 5 Photographer Unknown, (2019), Waffle Stitch Jumper [ONLINE]. Available at: http://www.topshop.com/en/ tsuk/product/clothing-427/jumpers-cardigans-6924635/waffle-stitch-jumper-8202352 [Accessed 11 February 2019]. FIGURE 6 Photographed Alasdair McLellan, (2015), Topshop Unveils Third Campaign With Cara Delevingne [ONLINE]. Available at: http://emirateswoman.com/topshop-unveils-third-campaign-cara-delevingne/ [Accessed 11 February 2019]. FIGURE 7 Photographed by Oliver Hadlee, (2018), Topshop & Topman Team Up In New Denim Launch [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2018/02/189652/topshop-topman-denim-ss18-campaign [Accessed 11 February 2019]. FIGURE 8 Photographed by Chloe Hayward, (2018), Animal print - just as good for summer as a straw bag and denim cutoffs: @chloehayward_ [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BkkiiOvg9r_/?saved-by=chloeeejames [Accessed 12 February 2019]. FIGURE 9 Photographed by Topshop, (2016), The vinyl jeans we’ll be wearing for the rest of the winter have landed in store and online [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BOPp-QsBx5S/?taken-by=topshop [Accessed 12 February 2019]. FIGURE 10 Photographed by Topshop, (2018), Snake Print Dress [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.whowhatwear. co.uk/topshop-snake-print-dress [Accessed 12 February 2019]. FIGURE 11 Photographer Unknown, (2019), Best Fashion Window Displays [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/dieyi821/fashion-window-display/?lp=true [Accessed 14 February 2019]. FIGURE 12 Photographed by Tyrone le Bon, (2015), Gigi Hadid’s campaign for Topshop! [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// www.topshop.com/blog/2015/07/introducing-gigwi-hadid-for-aw15 [Accessed 11 February 2019].
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APPENDICES
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