Topshop vs Urban Outfitters Essay Example for Free

Topshop vs Urban Outfitters Essay Topshop was established in 1964 within a Sheffield department store called Peter Robinson in U. K. In 1974, Topshop was taken out of Peter Robinson and set up as a standalone retailer. It is a chain retail clothing store that operates in more than 20 countries. It is part of Arcadia Group, which was also owns a number of well-know outlets including Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Wallis. It is mainly known for womens clothing and its primary sales come from clothing and fashion accessories. Their womenswear carry dresses, tops, bottoms, bags, shoes, accessories, cosmetics and lingeries. Their mission is to bring in high street fashion at affordable price, their clothing style is very edgy, chic and classy. Their target customers are students to upper-middle class, demographic from 18 to 30s. Urban Outfitters is an apparel company that was incorporated in 1976. The company was originated as â€Å"Free Peoples Store† in Philadelphia in 1970, with concentration of â€Å"funky† household items and clothing. The founder were two Philadelphians, Scott Hayne and Scott Belair. The companys womenswear carry dresses, swimwear, tops, bottoms, bags, outerwear, accessories and intimates. Their products are urban hipster style, vintage feel with a modern twist, something that you can wear everyday. They target at young adult market, age from teens to 20s. Both Urban Outfitters and Topshop are specialty retail store. Topshop s visual merchandising at the front door is quite eye-catching. I think the clothes on the mannequins give a clear picture of what their product style is and what they are selling –cutting edge style. Their recent exterior is displaying mannequins which are facing inside the store rather than outside, this stimulates ones curiosity to enter the store and find out how the front view of the mannequins look like. The merchandise that are featured in the window are positioned on the ground floor, mostly in the center of the store where the themed merchandised items are located. Urban Outfitterss store window decor is not as appealing compare with Topshop. However, they are able to give out a message of their style—earthy, hip and unconventional style. Most of their merchandise that are featured in the window are located on the ground floor but they are not easy to be found as products are placed in different section. Merchandise of Topshop is organized by category, theme and clearance with different size range while Urban Outfitters is organized by category, designers and clearance with different size range. Sale merchandise in Topshop is positioned on the top floor of the store. They are placed according to category and located in a different area. Clothing from 10% to 30% off and shoes from 30% to 60% off. Sale merchandise of Urban outfitters is also positioned on the top floor of the store. However, they are grouped in a sale zone. Clothing and shoes from 30% to 40% off. In Topshop, all clothing are hanging on the rack, part of the accessories are placed on the table but mostly are hanging on the rack. Shoes are displayed on the wall mounted shoe rack while a few of them like boots are placed on the table within the same category section. On the other hand, Urban outfitters have their clothing both hung on the rack and folded on the table. Shoes are displayed on the wall mounted shoe rack and some are placed on the table. Accessories are displayed both on the rack and table. Books and toys are placed on either the table and the shell. Topshop is a UK national brand, their vendor assortment include collaboration with other designers. Recent collaboration is the JW Andersons collection which was launched last friday September 14, 2012. JW Anderson is a london fashion week star designer. The Topshop store in Soho has a special designed partition located by the entrance door to showcase the whole JW Andersons collection. Topshop also collaborated with starts like British supermodel Kate Moss and British artist Stella Vine in 2007. Urban Outfitters carry private label brands, all label products are mix together and placed by category. However, expensive products are organized by label brands in a particular section. In Topshop, there is a big sign of directory on the mirror wall with backlight letters next to the escalator which is hard to miss. In addition, clear signage underneath the escalator shows you the directory of the next floor while you are taking the escalator up. There are posters on the wall shows message like items on sales and student discount. In contrast, Urban Outfitters has no signage for direction used inside the store, but there are signage above the racks that indicates a particular priced group of items. Topshop is not publicly traded while Urban Outfitters is. Urban Outfitters is one of the retail brands under Urban Outfitters Inc. It is a publicly traded American company and is owned and chaired by Robert Hayne. The company is also held by several large investors, such as Fidelity Management Research Company, Maverick Capital Ltd, Vanguard Group, and Capital Guardian Trust Company. According to NASDAQ website posted on September 21, 2012. The total net sales during the second quarter of Urban Outfitters Inc. has increased increase 11% to $676. 3 million, the net sales by brands grew 14. 1% to $310. 7 million at Urban Outfitters. Topshop prices vary from line to line to accommodate all aspect of spectrum. One of their popular line â€Å"Mainline† offering classic style is marked at a reasonable pricepoint. On the other hand, â€Å"Premium† line is focus on shoppers of quality products who are looking for detailed, superior material apparel is on a higher pricepoint. Urban Outfitters prices does not vary much from label to label, products are marked at the same price range at a reasonable pricepoint. There are a few high-end label brands on a much higher pricepoint than the regular brands. In conclusion, both stores offers similar merchandise with the same merchandising philosophy. However, Topshop covers a wider range of target customers than Urban Outfitters. However, the only draw back within Topshop is its failure to provide prices that accommodate their large student market. Both of their style is very different and does not portray the same merchandising message. Topshop is more internationally recognized due to its market diversity and intense marketing strategies. I think Urban Outfitters should broaden their global threshold, for instance, expanding their market to Asia.

A New Nation of Individuals :: Literature Papers

A New Nation of Individuals Abstract As John Savage articulates, â€Å"Nothing costs enough here,† in Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) of bottled automata, where maelstroms of soma-ingesting, Malthusian orgies casually toss human life about (239). Nothing is dear when the freedom to choose disappears because individuals â€Å"don’t know what it’s like being anything else† (74). Removing choice is simply a method of brainwashing that only subdues human nature for the short-run. Consider Sigmund Freud's views of private property: In abolishing private property we deprive the human love of aggression, certainly a strong one, though certainly not the strongest; but we have in no way altered the differences in power and influence which are misused by aggressiveness, nor have we altered anything in its nature. Aggressiveness was not created by property. (Kumar 384) Aggressiveness, too, was not created by choice. This essay proposes a utopia based on individual freedom, derived from a laissez-faire economy and semi-socialist meritocracy. A New Nation of Individuals First existed the individual; then a group of individuals established government via a social contract. Thus, as Percy Bysshe Shelley writes, "(g)overnment has no rights; it is a delegation from several individuals for the purpose of securing their own. It is therefore just, only so far as it exists by their consent, useful only so far as it operates to their well-being" (qtd. in Chianese 282). Such basic democracy founded the United States of America—yet modern democracy has gone terribly awry, and power now lies in the hands of few rather than many. Ideally, "(t)he highest purpose of Nature, which is the development of all the capacities which can be achieved by mankind, is attainable only in society, and more specifically in the society with the greatest freedom," and the greatest freedom can only be obtained, as Thoreau believed, through a government that governs least (202). In order for the individual to maintain full rights and a completely separate, private sphere of self, government must be just large enough to protect man's unalienable rights, Thomas Jefferson's "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness," but not overstep its boundaries onto the slippery slope of tyranny or oppression. A utopian society should thus stem from a meritocracy that allows for maximum individuality and freedom of choice while protecting man from one another, specifically through universal education and healthcare, and a laissez-faire economy founded on a flat-rate sales tax. A New Nation of Individuals :: Literature Papers A New Nation of Individuals Abstract As John Savage articulates, â€Å"Nothing costs enough here,† in Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) of bottled automata, where maelstroms of soma-ingesting, Malthusian orgies casually toss human life about (239). Nothing is dear when the freedom to choose disappears because individuals â€Å"don’t know what it’s like being anything else† (74). Removing choice is simply a method of brainwashing that only subdues human nature for the short-run. Consider Sigmund Freud's views of private property: In abolishing private property we deprive the human love of aggression, certainly a strong one, though certainly not the strongest; but we have in no way altered the differences in power and influence which are misused by aggressiveness, nor have we altered anything in its nature. Aggressiveness was not created by property. (Kumar 384) Aggressiveness, too, was not created by choice. This essay proposes a utopia based on individual freedom, derived from a laissez-faire economy and semi-socialist meritocracy. A New Nation of Individuals First existed the individual; then a group of individuals established government via a social contract. Thus, as Percy Bysshe Shelley writes, "(g)overnment has no rights; it is a delegation from several individuals for the purpose of securing their own. It is therefore just, only so far as it exists by their consent, useful only so far as it operates to their well-being" (qtd. in Chianese 282). Such basic democracy founded the United States of America—yet modern democracy has gone terribly awry, and power now lies in the hands of few rather than many. Ideally, "(t)he highest purpose of Nature, which is the development of all the capacities which can be achieved by mankind, is attainable only in society, and more specifically in the society with the greatest freedom," and the greatest freedom can only be obtained, as Thoreau believed, through a government that governs least (202). In order for the individual to maintain full rights and a completely separate, private sphere of self, government must be just large enough to protect man's unalienable rights, Thomas Jefferson's "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness," but not overstep its boundaries onto the slippery slope of tyranny or oppression. A utopian society should thus stem from a meritocracy that allows for maximum individuality and freedom of choice while protecting man from one another, specifically through universal education and healthcare, and a laissez-faire economy founded on a flat-rate sales tax.

Politics and Education Essay

Education can develop the personality of a person not physically but mentally as well. An educated person can look at a certain issue from various perspectives. A politician has to control over a large community therefore, he needs some extra ordinary skills and the first thing which can make him distinguished, is his qualification. Education can increase his communication and speaking skills. A politician is a social member and his interactions with people are frequent, therefore, he needs maturity and sensibility in his talk and behavior. This is certainly possible with proper education. A politician is the representative of a nation and he should be the perfect person by all means and education plays an important role in making anyone perfect to a great extent. But then, I don’t necessarily think that they need to have degrees in a particular field but broader understanding would certainly help. They must have minimum qualification†¦they need to be knowledgeable and must understand the laws. Politicians like Abraham Lincoln set an example of people who had no real formal education and look at the jobs they did and the leadership they offered†¦It is true that there have been great leaders who were uneducated, Kamaraj in India, for example. But, such gems are a rarity. In life, compromises must be made. Until an intelligent and foolproof plan exists for electing such gems from the public, we must resort to what is best for the common man. An educated person is more likely to do a good job as a politician than an illiterate person. Education is a process that makes people more humane and teaches them a lot about the country, how to express themselves through effective communication and so on I think the only key thing they need to be educated in is the Constitution and process of government. A lot of the early leaders of the country were not well educated even for the time. Some foundation of knowledge is beneficial and they definitely need to be able to reason and learn. They need leadership quality, power in speech, integrity, sincerity, honesty and purity in whatever actions they take for development of country.

The theme of perseverance in Forrest Gump - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 633 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/08/02 Category Cinematographic Art Essay Level High school Tags: Forrest Gump Essay Did you like this example? On July 6 of 1994, the two hour and twenty-two-minute film, Forrest Gump, hit movie theater screens. The movie was adapted from a book Forrest Gump written by Winston Groom in 1986. The movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis, who also was the director of The Polar Express. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The theme of perseverance in Forrest Gump" essay for you Create order The movie grossed more than 660 million dollars! There were so many different storylines throughout the movie that allowed almost anyone to connect with the characters. We could say the genre is a romantic drama, but it also has scenes of action and even a little comedy. This movie won six Academy awards to include: Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. If that does not define a hit movie, then what does? Tom Hanks played the main character, Forrest Gump. He was amazing in this role because he stood up for himself and made a way for success in his life. Hanks has a lot of acting experience. He has acted in 76 movies, a popular one being the Disney movie Saving Mr. Banks. Sally Fields played the role of Ms. Gump. She has also starred in numerous movies, one being Mrs. Doubtfire where she also played the role of the mother. Jenny, who was Forrests childhood love, was played by Robin Wright who has also acted in many movies but an all-time favorite, Wonder Women. Forrest Gump is the story of a special man who sits on a bench at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia as he tells his life story. As a child, he was at a disadvantage having braces on his legs and a low IQ, but that never stopped him from leading a full life. He attended college at the University of Alabama to play football, signed into the Army and fought in the Vietnam War, saved the life of Lieutenant Dan, became a ping pong champion, ran across the nation, and was a successful businessman establishing a shrimp boat business named Bubba Gump. Throughout his whole life, he managed to always keep his sweet childhood love, Jenny, in his mind. Forrest was a nice dressed fella. His mama told him you could always tell a lot about a person by their shoes. Forrest had many different shoes throughout his life. Beginning as a child he had shoes with braces. Forrest broke out of these braces when he was being bullied and Jenny yelled Run, Forrest, Run! as he was being chased. Then as Forrest grew up, he experienced football cleats and combat boots from war. Jenny added to his collection, buying Forrest a pair of Nike running shoes, which were used to run across the nation. Forrest went on to play football in college and later enter into the war. He was not intentionally supposed to play football, but the speed he had made him an unintentional athlete. Gump was also an unintended hero in the Vietnam war, as he saved Lieutenant Dan and tried to save his best friend, Bubba, along with other survivors. The sound effects and music choice were very impactful in this movie. When Jenny returned home to Forrest in Alabama, they dance to the song Sweet Home Alabama. Another song is Fortunate Son which was played when Forrest went to the Vietnam War. This song has references to those who serve and represent the flag and the colors red, white, and blue. The theme revealed in Forrest Gump was perseverance. My mama says you gotta put the past behind you before you can move on. Forrest never looked back, viewed life positively and dealt with whatever came his way. This Academy-Award Drama has a message for everyone Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. Keep living!