Managing Innovation and Creativity at Topman - Essay Example

?Managing Innovation and Creativity at Topman Background of Topman Men’s fashion is not always something that people think about as being innovative and creative, but there are many clothing manufacturers and retailers who are looking for ways to improve their bottom line. They hire individuals who can help them stand out in the world of fashion. One such business is Topman the seller of men’s fashion. Topman is actually a stand-alone fashion business that was started by Peter Robinson in 1978. Topman exclusively caters to men and their stores can be found throughout the United Kingdom. The point that Topman wants to make is to “provide a new approach to menswear retailing” (Fashion Model Directory, 2011). Their main product offering is men’s fashionable clothes from formal suits to casual styles; they also carry footwear and accessories. Topman states that they have something for any fellow who is looking for something unique and different. Some of the designer clothes they carry includes items by Fred Perry, Licentious, Carolyn Massey, Material Boy, Dexter Wong Ltd. Topman is also interested in collaborating with young designers and they have worked with Markus Lupfer, Peter Jensen, Kim Jones and they have launched their own premium label called, “Topman Design.” Topman is also collaborating with Fashion East to produce a menswear event “MAN” that takes place during London Fashion Week. In 2008, Topman also collaborated with a new label they call, “The Look Presents” which is the creation of Paul Gorman and Max Karie. It is clear that Topman wants to be at the head of the fashion designing for men and they are able to work with people who are innovative and creative. Topman is part of the Arcadia group. Topman is a high street store and they have an online component. In looking at Topman, this researcher will analyse how Topman was created and discuss the relevant theories that may explain how their creativity was used to make them successful. 1 Explanation of Creativity The creative spirit is important to everything that is done in the world. To define creativity exactly is difficult but every entrepreneur must have it in order of them to understand what they should do next to keep their business moving. Creativity allows an individual to think out of the box, to keep an eye on competition, and to understand what sets them apart from their competition. Each company creates their own corporate culture and the owners must be able to express their vision for the business to their employees and to their target market. Creativity is also a large part of advertising. The more creative a business owner is in their advertising, the easier it will be to capture the audience they want to capture. Wallas (qtd. in McLeod 2009) states that there are five stages of creativity that are quite relevant to this discussion. The five stages that Wallas described were: 1. Preparation – the individual begins to work on a particular problem and begins to think about the problem. 2. Incubation – the individual continues to think about the problem mentally but does not yet do anything physically about it. 3. Intimation – the creative individual now begins to get ideas about the problem and how they can work with it. 4. Illumination or insight – the creative individual now has some ideas to begin putting on paper or constructing to solve the problem. 5. Verification – the individual finally understands what they need to do in the problem and they begin to consciously do something about it. These five stages seem to imply that creativity is more an unconscious process that comes into consciousness for the individual. This shows how people are inspired to do great things. 1.2 Topman and Creativity Topman has worked hard to differentiate itself from other clothing designers and retailers. It is part of another business called TopShop and both stores cater to men’s fashions. Men can find reasonably proceed apparel that was created by well known designers or by new, up and coming designers. Topman has done many creative things that other fashion designers have not done. Topman began by selling men’s fashion and accessories in 1978. By 1980, they had already built profits to over a million pounds. By 1990, they strengthened their position as a high street fashion store for young men. In 1993, they updated their business and began to cater to the younger male crowd as well as the older one. In 2002, Topman entered the high fashion stage by appearing with fashions on the catwalk during London Fashion Week (Arcadia Group n.d.). By 2003, Topman began to appeal to their target market by using music. First, they produced The VOID, a showcase for young talent that launched at the Oxford Circus flagship. In 2005, they continued this venue by sponsoring the NME Awards, by supporting new bands and by involving Topman in music festivals. All of these methods were very creative and were specifically targeted well to young men. Topman continues to grow and by 2007, their Manchester store won the Draper Award for the best new store, they opened internationally and they opened a “gigastore” in Cardiff (Arcadia Group, n.d.). 2 Innovation and Creativity There are a variety of ways that Topman has used to show innovation and creativity. They are very adept at visual marketing. As an example, their window displays have lots of colour, they put their manikins in poses that are appealing and natural, and they create an environment that is visually exciting and interesting. They also use bring colours and create specific scenes in the window. Their Spring Window, as an example, catches the eye very easily. They created a full nature scene that pulls the viewers into the scene. This is a very creative setting. Each display they create has strong graphical elements along with “bespoke fanned props [and] tinder boxes” (SFD, 2011) in addition to the graphics. This type of display crates a maximum exposure for Topman and makes an eye catching display that makes the target market want to go into the store. The young men who frequent the store can picture themselves in the place of the manikins in the window. Topman also uses descriptive words in their ads. Words like “edgy,” “latest trend,” and “lots of new items” appeal to the younger crowd and make them want to purchase on the spot. They have also been able to maintain a consistent look in their stores by using the same interior designers. They have also used colour to create a specific environment or mood. As an example they used a red room in a New York display to care an image of edginess. Topman carries its creativity to their online presences. They provide eye catching updates to their customers through an email they call “Stylemail.” This email provides information on the latest trends in fashion and their new products. The newsletter is a good example of Knowle’s Principles of Adult Learning and it goes along with the needs of their target market. There are a few of the principles that apply to this subject that will be discussed. Russell (2011) states that Knowles believed that adults are motivated to learn if they think that the information they are learning is relevant. Usually, this is something internal that they feel and that makes them want to learn. Most young people enjoy learning but they do want to know that what they are learning is important. Topman has created the newsletter to show “the latest trends at your fingertips” which automatically makes the reader feel that they are in the know if they read the newsletter. Another of Knowle’s principles states that the adult learner wants to be self-directed and they want to decide for themselves what they want to learn. Topman’s newsletter has a lot of information so the readers can decide how much they want to know about the topic of fashion. Also, it is very important to adult learners to be able to use their knowledge once they have learned it. Topman makes sure that their customers are well informed about fashion, and they can use this knowledge to make better choices about their clothing styles. When Topman opens a store, they employ a variety of techniques and innovations to bring people in. As an example, when their Oxford Circus store was opened, they employed Vespa boys to hand out gift cards. They let people know where to get the gift cards by using Twitter and Facebook. Topman has learned that they must use a variety of marketing techniques to appeal to the young men that they are targeting. Because social marketing is huge with the younger crowd, they know that they can find new and old customers through these methods. Easey (2009) states that a product should “generate interest with the consumer” (p. 15) and there are many ways that a business can use to generate interest. The use of colours with different textures, using different coloured fonts in print ads and on the Internet and visual repetition are all important ways to captivate an audience visually. Topman understands this and has created a pleasing visual display in everything they do. One other way that Topman has been creative is in launching popup stores on college campuses. This has provided their target market with a way to purchase designer clothes on campus and it has created a buzz to attract new customers. When people found out about these campus stores, they told their friends in person as well as on their social networking sites. 3 Senior Managers and Creativity When describing how senior managers can encourage innovation and creativity, it seems very obvious. To motivate employees, their basic needs must be met. Abraham Maslow in his Hierarchy of Needs theory states that an individual must meet their basic needs for food and shelter before they are motivated to move on to higher levels. In fact, at each level, they must satisfy that need before they move to a higher level. To apply this to motivation in the workplace, it means that basic needs for an equitable wage, benefits, a positive work environment and a work environment that encourages creativity and innovation is essential for many people to have their basic needs met. Senior manager can encourage this motivation if they value their employees by supplying these needs. Senior managers are in the position to set the stage for the other workers. If they provide an atmosphere that encourages employees to bring ideas and they encourage all ideas, they will be able to have creativity and innovation easily. Part of what will help senior management is to have an understanding of different learning styles and to match what they know to their employees. Honey and Mumford (“Honey and Mumford” , 2011) suggest four learning styles that include the activists, the reflections, the theorists and the pragmatists. In looking at these styles, it is clear to see that all of the types would need to work together in all environments. To apply these styles to this report, the activist would need to be a very active part of a team. They are the idea makers who will come up wit ideas but who have a problem following through with them. They are the problem solvers and they will often be the leaders in the group (Morgan, 2011). The reflector is the observer of the work and they will collect all of the information they need before they come to any conclusions. Although they may have problems meeting deadlines, the reflectors are great at reviewing what has already been learned. The theorists nee more structure than the reflectors and because they do, they are best when they have a step by step process to follow. They are probably the most level headed of the learning styles because they do not allow emotion to take over their decisions. The pragmatists are the most impatient. They like to save time and like to try out new techniques. The pragmatists also need structure and they like to know that what they are doing is useful and valuable to the company (Morgan, 2011). To apply this information to senior management, it would seem that they would do well to encourage all types of learning styles in their corporate environment. In this way, they would have a variety of creativity going on at the same time. The way that Topman seems to do this is to encourage everyone at every level of their business. They encourage new designers to create new fashions and new styles. They ask marketing people to not only understand what is going on now, but to understand the trends for fashion in the future (The Education and Entertainment Network ( 2011). Topman employs a team approach to all they do. They have a marketing team to promote both the retailer and their individual products. They see marketing as a chance for consumers to have knowledge of their brand. The marketing team is responsible for getting the word out about the products and the company to the public. These are very systematic ways for Topman to stay ahead of their competition. Another way that senior managers can encourage innovation and creativity is through allowing everyone to be in on the decision making process. There are many models for decision making and Edward de Bono’s Six Thinking Hats model is a good one because it allows a problem to be seen through a variety of directions. This method can help a group become more cohesive to coordinate their problem solving skills. 4 Service from Topman for Cantillon Entrepreneur Cantillon believed that the entrepreneur was living on unfixed income and that there is a certain amount of risk because the entrepreneur does not know when they are going to meet with a consumer (Brown and Thornton, n.d.). When reading over the Cantillon entrepreneur it was difficult to fit a service or a product from Topman into this model. It seemed to me that it calls for someone who is always changing and moving forward. In this capacity, the service of designer was the most relevant. The reason for this choice is that the designer has to understand not only the designs now, but they have to be able to anticipate the trends and the designs for the future. Topman has been successful with designs because their design team understands where the changing needs are for this industry and where it may land in the future. The designer also speaks to Cantillon’s idea of risk. There is a certain amount of risk in any business and in fashion, it is ever changing. Cantillon saw that “the potential for profits as a reward for risk bearing and claimed that profit is the difference between revenue and costs plus risks” (Brown and Thornton, n.d., p. 105). Topman designers must think about risk and learn to take calculated risks in order to continue to be profitable. They obviously understand risk because they continue to have a strong business. References Arcadia Group. (n.d.). Arcadia brand history: Topman. Available from http://www.arcadiagroup.co.uk/about/brandhistory/topman.html [Accessed 12 June 2011] Brown, C. and Thornton, M. (n.d.). Entrepreneurship theory and the creation of economics: Insights from Cantillon’s Essai. Available from www.swinburne.edu.au/lib/ir/onlineconferences/agse2011/000140.pdf [Accessed 17 June 2011] Easey, M. (2009). Fashion marketing. UK: John Wiley & Sons. Available from http:/books.google.com [Accessed 14 June 2011]. Fashion Model Directory. (2011). Topman. Available from http://www.fashionmodeldirectory.com/brands/topman/ [Accessed 10 June 2011]. Green, C.D. (2000). A theory of human motivation. A.H. Maslow.(1943). Classics in the History of Psychology. Psychology Review, 50, 370-396. Available from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm [Accessed 16 June 2011]. McLeod, C. (19 January 2009). The Wallas model for the process of creativity. Kelake Blog. Available from http://www.kelake.org/archive/work-and-working/creativity/the-wallas-model-for-the-process-of-creativity.php [Accessed 15 June 2011] Morgan, J. (2011). Honey and Mumford learning styles. The Lord of the Web Blog. Available from http://www.thelordofweb.com/education-reference/article7456.htm [Accessed 16 June 2011] Russell, S. S. (2011). An overview of adult learning processes: adult learning principles. Medscape Today News. Available from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/547417_2 [Accessed 14 June 2011]. SFD. (2011). Topman foliage. Available from http://www.sfd.co.uk/Foliage [Accessed 10 June 2011). The Education and Entertainment Network. (2011). Varied roles in fashion. Infonet. Available from http://www.infomat.net/1/focus/foci/arcadia/varied_roles.asp [Accessed 17 June 2011]. Read More