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Some weeks, both stores we visit may do a good job, other weeks there will be one that stands out as being much better or worse. Your reviews will help us discover if this is a trend. This week, we've visited clothes retailers Topshop and River Island. Please continue to tell us which stores you would like us to go to. Background Part of the giant Arcadia Group, owned by Philip Green, which also includes Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge. It was founded in 1964 as Peter Robinson's Topshop, a youth fashion brand in a now-defunct department store in Sheffield, and now has more than 300 stores in the UK (and ships to 100 other countries). It has become one of Britain's biggest fashion brands thanks to collaborations with the likes of Kate Moss and Christopher Kane. The visit 12pm, 13 June 2012, Oxford Circus, London. What it sells Women's and teenage fashions, shoes, accessories and its own-brand makeup. In the basement there is a hair salon by catwalk hairdresser Daniel Hersheson, a Blink nail bar, an Eat cafe and a personal shopping service.
It also has a maternity range, petite sizing and a pricier Topshop Boutique range showcasing rising international designers such as Maarten Van der Host. First impressions This is the UK's flagship Topshop store and the building, with its famous arched doorway, dominates the Oxford Circus crossroads. Topshop has the lion's share of the large shop windows (currently featuring the Pixie Geldof range also promoted through Vogue), although Topman, which has two of the five floors, has not been short-changed. A brightly lit bank of escalators transports shoppers into this retail heaven. The stock is well-ordered and signposted, with some "mini displays" on mannequins. What were the staff like? There were plenty around, all in easy-to-spot "Topshop crew" T-shirts. They were all friendly, but some were more helpful than others. The "greeter" at the entrance answered my inquiry about teenage underwear and revealed that their smallest size is 4. A common (internet talkboard) gripe with Topshop seems to be about the young, arrogant and unhelpful staff and I spotted one spat as a frustrated customer tried to get a refund.
Best bargain Anatomicals Help the Paw Vitamin E hand cream, £3. What does it charge? It has an eye-poppingly large range of different styles of jeans with prices starting from £38; multibuy offers include two £6 vest tops for £10. Where can I pay? There are plenty of tills on every floor, with no queues on this particular day, although the queue dividers indicate they certainly do occur.Topshop offers a credit/account card but not a loyalty card. But it offers a 10% student discount and supports the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer charity, selling a range of friendship bracelets at the tills. Lasting impressions Given the scale of the operation, it seems to do the basics incredibly well. And despite the huge lunchtime footfall, changing room queues were well organised and there were no untidy areas or messy rails. It felt busy without being manic and I saw people of all ages shopping in comfort. Background Set up in 1948 by Andrew Hunt and Bernard Lewis, it originally operated from a small shop in London as Lewis Separates.
It has since gone through a number of name changes – Chelsea Girl, Concept Man – before becoming River Island in 1988. The group is a family concern, led by entrepreneur and chairman Bernard Lewis. Its collections are designed by an in-house team and it has more than 250 UK stores. The visit 1.30pm, 13 June 2012, Oxford Street, London. What it sells Women's and teenage fashions, menswear, and a fast-expanding children's clothing range, although not in this store. Featured here is its retro 1970s- and 1960s-style Chelsea Girl range aimed at slightly younger customers, which is slightly cheaper than the River Island ranges. On the top floor are accessories and a small amount of makeup and shoes, while menswear is relegated to the basement. First impressions This is a large store on a prime retail site, though not on the same scale as Topshop. The big windows feature "Jubilation" displays with mannequins and corgis, and a life-sized Beefeater dummy. Everything seemed well laid out and not too cramped.
Both the greeter at the entrance and the young lady on the till were friendly and helpful. Best bargain £22 for a pretty pink patterned dress.brightly coloured cotton scoop neck vest tops, £6.There are seven tills on the ground floor, which were manned by three members of staff. There were no queues even during a busy lunchtime. The first floor had three tills, although there were no customers or staff in sight.No, but it has a store card. Occasionally it hosts special discount events aimed at students. Lasting impressions Busy without being manic, with shoppers enjoying their visit. It has well-organised changing rooms and eye-catching displays. a beautiful Erdem-style peplum dress on a manniquin was attracting attention, for example, with a reasonable price tag of £60. The rails were neat and not overloaded. Rebecca's verdict Topshop felt to me like a mega shopping experience, rather like visiting a shopping centre where you could stay all day and shop till you dropped if you wanted to.
For that reason I felt it was rather overwhelming. But unlike some of its high street rivals it seems slick, delivering exactly what its customers want: affordable fashion – with big name brands as well as Topshop's own – in a fun environment. I liked the calmness of River Island, and the clothes seemed to be excellent quality without being over-trendy, and were very reasonably priced. Both have excellent websites, too. A close call, then, but I thought Topshop had the edge as it is a touch more exciting. Decathlon romped home in last week's sporting battle, taking 77% of the votes to Sports Direct's 14%. And there seemed to be a common consensus about why this was. gosling summed it up thus: "Decathlon is a proper sports shop that sells decent kit, even their own brand stuff can be good in some areas (cycling clothing for example). It also has stuff that covers all ends of the market, eg I've bought hockey sticks from there for £100+. Sports Direct is a shop that sells cheap tat.