A comparative case analysis of Zara and Topshop Company

I. Rationale
As of the present, fashion industry market is growing and booming with the presence of low cost fashion companies such as Zara and Topshop. These kinds of companies have the possibility to dominate the industry of today and in the future and the situation for competition in the fashion industry can be set on high demand on such products and services. Zara is recognized as the most successful fashion retailer in the world and Topshop is also making its mark as one of the fashion’s major success stories. These two leading fashion retailers have their own unique business model and have made huge impact in the fashion market industry. Thus, the research topic would be interesting, as it would contribute to better understanding of how fashion industry works nowadays.
II. Research Objective

The main objective of the study is to be able to identify the possible assumptions of the low cost fashion companies as there is impact on the competition within fashion industry. In support of comparing Zara and Topshop respectively, appropriate primary and secondary data will be collected to provide a sound research. Furthermore, the present state of competition within fashion industry will be identified. And, reliable research design and methodology will be executed in order to achieve a sound realization of the study’s objective. Read also about Zara corporate social responsibility issues
III. Methodology
Survey questionnaire will be conducted among a number of selected shoppers. The group can be divided into two sub-groups of shoppers, for example, 50 loyal shoppers of Zara and the other 50 shoppers of Topshop. These respondents’ age bracket will fall between 20-30 years old. The content of the questionnaire includes basic shopper information such as shopper’s age, gender, occupation and income. The questions can be divided into 3 subsets. For example, 5 questions relating to how the shoppers are influenced by the products and services of the low cost fashion stores will be asked. The next 5 questions will be about price ranges and if price is a deciding factor to the shoppers that would affect their purchasing behavior. The last 5 questions can be identifying of such Zara and Topshop’s effectiveness in terms of their promotions and advertising. In the end, the data to be gathered will be tallied by the researcher and will be encoded in the computer. Frequencies will be computed in percentage and results will be presented through graphs, tables and textual arrangements.
IV. Bibliography
Hansen, Suzy. (2012, November 9). How Zara Grew Into the World’s Largest Fashion Retailer. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/magazine/how-zara-grew-into-the-worlds-largest-fashion-retailer.html?pagewanted=all
Strauss, Marina. (2013, May 21). Pushing back Tide of Low-cost Clothing. Theglobeandmail.com. Retrieved June 24, 2013, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/pushing-back-the-tide-of-low-cost-clothing/article12031476/
Fairhurst, Ann and Bhardwaj, Vertica. (2009, October). Fast Fashion: Response to Changes in the Fashion Industry. Academia.edu. Retrieved June 25, 2013, from http://www.academia.edu/576035/Fast_fashion_response_to_changes_in_the_fashion_industry