Topshop in the UK Fashion Store and Other Global Markets - Research Proposal Example

The research seeks to investigate how the success of Topshop in the UK can influence its strategy to expand to overseas markets. The research is valuable since it gives insight about the strategies that can be implemented by this leading UK fashion store when it decided to expand to other global markets. The literature going to be reviewed in this particular research is closely related to the area of study. The aim of reviewing this literature is to gain insight about the strategies that can be implemented when a business is expanding to other global markets. The research will use a qualitative method to gather data and focus groups will be mainly used for this particular case. This proposal is expected to be complete within a time frame of about two weeks. How the success of Topshop in the UK can influence its strategy to expand overseas 1.0 Introduction Topshop is the most influential brand in the British Fashion community and it has distinguished itself through offering popular range of clothing, accessories and makeup and a portfolio of successful product-led marketing initiatives such as Topshop Unique and Kate Moss Design Collaboration (Joyn, 2011). The success of Topshop is not an end in itself since it is still poised for growth. As such, this research proposal has been design to establish the strategies that can be implemented by this shop in its bid to expand to overseas markets. It is important that research has to be carried out so as to be in a position to successfully establish business in a global environment. The paper is divided into various categories which are meant to highlight the stages involved in carrying out this particular research. 1.1 Justification and value of the research Organizations operating in a global market ought to take a holistic approach in order for them to operate effectively. The global environment is characterized by various market forces such as competition as well as consumer choice among other factors (Everard & Burrow, 1996). Though Topshop has successfully managed to establish itself as a force to reckon with in the UK fashion industry, this might not be the case in overseas markets since they are not synonymous with the UK market. As such, this study is justified since it seeks to investigate the market forces that can affect the viability of businesses in different markets. The research is also valuable given that it helps the responsible authorities at the above mentioned shop to make informed decisions about the strategies that can be implemented in order for it to penetrate new overseas market. The research is also going to create a body of knowledge that can be used for academic purposes in as far as the study of international business is concerned. 2.0 Research questions 1. What are the strategies that can be used by Topshop to expand to overseas markets? 2. How can the operations of the organization be improved through this expansion drive? 3. What can be the key success factors for this expansion drive? 2.1 Research objectives The main objective is to establish how Topshop can penetrate the overseas market. The other objective is to establish how the strategies going to be adopted by the company can improve its operations in overseas market. The other objective of the research study is to establish how the organization can benefit from its overseas growth strategy. 3.0 Literature review This research has been mainly influenced by the study that was carried by Joyn (2010) to establish the factors that positively contributed to the growth and success of Topshop to be named UK’s top fashion brand. Whilst this particular study is not exactly the same as this one, it has been observed that they share some similarities. However, this current study seeks to establish that gap that may exist in the literature available with regards to business expansion to overseas markets. The main research questions have been influenced by this particular study though it mainly focused on the UK market. However, this section of the proposal is also going to review academic literature that exists in the area of international business. 3.1 Use of patented technology Topshop integrated multiple marketing initiatives into one connected program creating a ‘network effect’ which resulted in increased traffic through their sales channels (Joyn, 2011). New information and communication technology such as the internet has significantly contributed to the running of organizations during the contemporary period. According to Kotler & Armstrong (2003), the internet is a very effective strategy that can positively shape the operations of the organization in any area. For instance, the internet is fast and instantaneous and it can reach a wide range of people. There are different types of social media such as Face book that can be used by organizations to attract customers. Social media is quite a new phenomenon and it has taken the world by storm. Social media is increasingly becoming a very effective tool in carrying out business during the contemporary period. Once a shop has attracted the hearts of its targeted customers, it can improve its viability as well as its effectiveness. This can be achieved through the use of different types of media that can reach a wide range of people. Through the use of social media, an organization is in a better position to conduct market research about different products it offers. This strategy is also effective given that the marketers are in a better position to give feedback to their consumers. This strategy provides a two way communication and it is very effective in as much as marketing is concerned. A good relationship between the marketers and the customers is likely to be created if they are in constant touch. Communication is very important in running any business. 3.2 Product positioning Knowledge about product positioning is very important in as far as expanding business to other markets is concerned. The concept of product positioning is a crucial aspect that shapes the buying behaviour of people and it is designed to influence their perceptions about a certain market offering (Cant et al, 2006). The concept of product positioning attempts to influence customer perceptions about a certain product in the market hence it is important for the marketers to have knowledge about the factors that influence the perceptions of the customers about something. The concept of product positioning is mainly about how a brand is positioned or perceived in the minds of a target group of customers. There are different strategies that can be used to position a product in the market. For instance, Topshop has managed to use the differentiation strategy to gain a large market share given that there are many competing brands all offering fashion and quality at the best price (Joyn, 2011). In this case, the company’s operations have been shaped by London youth culture and this has helped it to attract many customers. However, culture is not universal across the globe. The culture in UK is not similar to the cultures found in other countries. It is therefore important to position the shop in such a way that Topshop will be able to appeal to the interests of many customers. 3.3 Consumer behaviour Consumer behaviour is influenced by various factors. Basically, consumer behaviour is defined as “the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and desires,” (Cant et al, 2006, p. 2). The consumption behaviour of certain products by human beings are determined by factors such as needs, perceptions, attitudes as well as motives that drive individual to buy certain products. In this particular case, the main objective is to establish how consumer behaviour can be used to formulate business strategy that can be used in its international operations since this are different from local UK fashion markets. It can be observed that the perceptions held by the customers about a certain product greatly influence their behaviour. McCarthy & Perreault (1990) define an attitude as “a learned predisposition to behave in a consistently favourable or unfavourable way towards market related objects or situations.” It is important for the marketers to establish the behaviour of the customers first before they embark on establishing a new business venture in the global market. If the consumers have a negative attitude towards a certain product, then their behaviour towards it can also be negative. This can impact negatively on the company’s ability to lure more customers to the product it offers. 3.4 Methodology The literature reviewed has shown that data for this kind of research need to be qualitative in nature since the study seeks to investigate the opinions of the people towards something. Therefore, in order to carry out this research proposal, the researcher has decided to use a qualitative research method. The advantage of this method is that data can be obtained directly from the participants and the results reflect the personal views of the people involved in the study. This helps to reflect the opinions of the people and the population as a whole. 3.1 Research design A research design is a conceptual structure, outline or blueprint of what the researcher will do in the study by following proper guidelines that are meant to obtain data that can be used to solve the research problem or answer the research question. Research design represents the entire structure and working framework of the research which makes it possible and valid to draw more general conclusions from the study (Oppenheim, 1992). A research design is shows the structure of the research, as well as the sample or group measures and methods that are used to address the research question. For the purpose of this research, an exploratory research design is going to be used in order to familiarise with the problem being investigated so as to be in a position to gain more insight into the problem being investigated. Exploratory research design is also advantageous in that it allows the researcher to gain more information about the subject under study since there is little information closely related to the literature on the research topic. Exploratory research design has also been chosen in order to analyse the situation related to overseas expansion drive by Topshop with minimum cost and time. The researcher is going to use a qualitative approach which is mainly concerned with obtaining in depth responses about how people think and feel towards something. This research method allows the researcher to gain an insight about how people perceive a certain product offered in the market. This also helps to the researcher to gain insight about the attitudes, beliefs as well as the behaviour of the population being investigated. This research method is advantageous in that it helps the researcher to uncover the feelings of the people towards a certain product as well as their experiences. When people are given the opportunity to express their ideas towards something, they are likely to tell the truth. This method is likely going to give the marketers at Topshop the opportunity to gather the views of the respondesnts. 3.2 Data collection Qualitative research method going to be used in this case mainly focuses on small groups of people which is less expensive. Focus groups will be used to gather data for this particular research. People will be grouped into small groups comprising of about six or more people and they will be asked semi structured questions so that they can give their views towards a particular product. In this case, the researcher will seek to investigate the people’s opinions about how they perceive the products offered by Topshop. This instrument has advantages in that it tries to get the views of the respondents which can be used in generating new ideas that can be helpful to the organisation under investigation. It also creates openness since it encourages people to respond freely to the questions asked. However, since few people will be studied, it may be difficult to generalise the results of the whole population. The other disadvantage of this method of data collection is that it is time consuming. A short questionnaire is also going to be posted on different social media sites and it will target people from different locations with various ages since they have different tastes with regards to choice of fashion. This will help the organization to fulfil the needs of different age groups since fashion varies from place to place. This strategy significantly helped the organization to gain a large market share and it can also be applied to other countries in different parts of the globe. As noted, the internet has significantly improved the operations of many organizations across the globe hence it will also be used to conduct market research so as to obtain the needs of the customers before establishing a shop in overseas markets. The advantage of this method of data collection is that it can reach a wide range of people in different parts of the world. The other advantage is that it saves time and it is comparatively cheaper since marketers do not necessarily need to travel to areas where people live in various regions. 4.0 Research ethics According to the Oxford dictionary, ethics refers to “a system of good morals and behaviour.” It tries to distinguish between something that is good from bad. The researcher will be guided by the recommended code of ethics throughout the whole period of carrying out this research. The researcher will avoid academic misconducts such as plagiarism, deliberately distorting facts, reproducing results from other studies without proper acknowledgement as well as failing to maintain confidentiality. Consent will be sought from the participants before they are asked to take part in the study. The identity of the participants will remain anonymous so as to encourage them to feel secure when carrying out this research. 5.0 Timeline The research proposal is expected to be completed in a period of about two weeks. All the stages that make up the research proposal which include writing the literature review, research design and writing up the research methodology are expected to take an average of about a day each to complete. More time will be spent writing literature review since it is going to be obtained from secondary sources which ought to be thoroughly researched. The section of the report can take approximately two weeks since it is mainly concerned with analysing different sources of literature that is related to this particular topic. References Cant, MC 2000, Marketing Management, 4th Edition Juta and Co Ltd, CT. Everard, KE & Burrow, JL 1996, Business principles and management. South Western Educational Publishing, Ohio. Joyn (16 August, 2011). Exclusive: The most influential fashion brand in the UK. Viewed 15 March 2013 from: . Kotler, P 1998, Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and control. Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Kotler, P & Armstrong G 2004, Principles of Marketing, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River: NJ. McCarthy, JE & Perreault, WD 1990, Basic Marketing, International student Edition, 10th Edition, Irwin, Boston. Oldroyd, M 2006, Marketing environment. Elservier Butterworth, London. Oppenheim, AN 1992, Questionnaire Design, Interviewing and Attitude Measurement, New Edition, Pinter Publishers, New York. Rollinson D et al 2008, Organisational behaviour and analysis: An integrated approach. 4th Edition. Pearson Strydom, J 2004, Marketing, 3rd Edition, Juta & Co Ltd, CT. Appendix 1 PROJECT PLAN PHASE DESCRIPTION TIME 1 Draft the proposal 2 days 2 Literature search 4 days 3 Methodology 2 days 4 Write first draft 4 days 5 Edit first draft 2 days 6 Prepare final draft 2 days 7 Presentation of Research 1 day Appendix 2 To whom it may concern We are carrying out a research to see if it is feasible to open a new fashion shop called Topshop in your area. Below is a short questionnaire and we are kindly asking you to respond to the questions asked. We will treat all your responses with strict confidentiality so feel free to respond to all questions below. We would like to thank you for your participation in this research. Best wishes Questionnaire Have you ever heard about the shop called Topshop? Yes/NO Are you interested in fashion? Yes/No How often do you go for shopping? How old are you? What is your sex? Male/female. Are you married? Yes/No. Do you have kids? Yes/No. Are you interested to have this shop in your area? Yes/No. If yes, what do you expect to see from it? Read More