Here’s how this CMO is making an attempt to restore the Topshop logo

Rashid is Topshop and Topman’s new world advertising director. He joined 4 months in the past with a remit that the majority entrepreneurs would envy and concern in equivalent measure: get the logo again there.

An complete article might be devoted to unpicking the upward thrust and fall of the store. After using prime for years underneath the stewardship of name director Jane Shepherdson, it was once obtained through Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia and become the root of his empire earlier than it all started to collapse a decade later. There are numerous items of research and statement, even a documentary, on what sparked its death. But it might probably perfect be boiled all the way down to the next: past due to completely put money into a virtual enjoy, it was once stuck out through the upward thrust of influencer-powered rookies similar to Boohoo and Misguided. Topshop reduce corners in its makes an attempt to stick related and misplaced its edge within the procedure. The Covid pandemic was once the overall loss of life knell and, in 2021, it was once bought to on-line retail massive Asos.

Though its downward spiral has slowed underneath Asos, it has nevertheless struggled to completely flip its fortunes round. Lost amongst loads of different manufacturers at the platform, in large part with a equivalent value level and aesthetic, through the years, the little marketplace percentage it had left has been eroded. According to GlobalData, in 2021, Topshop and Topman held a blended marketplace percentage of 0.23%. This dropped to 0.21% in 2022 after which to 0.19% in 2023.

And so, in but some other bankruptcy of Topshop’s historical past, remaining September, Asos bought a majority stake within the trade to Heartland for £135m. The Danish retail conglomerate believes Topshop can go back to its former glory given the proper (learn: sizeable) funding. And that brings us to lately, as The Drum sits down with Rashid to be told extra about his plan that can underpin the revival.

“Michelle Wilson [managing director at Topshop and Topman] and I have always kept in touch,” he says of touchdown the gig. “I was raising capital for my other company at the time and we had a conversation over coffee on what was going on with Topshop and Topman. She quite openly said, ‘How do we get you to do some of the stuff you’ve done before for us?’”

Rashid’s occupation has been spent scaling startups, maximum not too long ago The Edit Ldn, a sneaker and streetwear corporate he based in 2020 and bought to Brand Alley 4 years later. There, he constructed the logo via unique partnerships with the likes of Klarna, Defected Records and Harrods, in addition to touchdown celebrities and sports activities stars as ambassadors.

“It feels like Topshop is a startup again,” he says. “We have to be mindful of how we go to market; we’re going to need to be scrappy in places. But, you know, we have an incredible foundation of history and heritage.”

As he builds momentum against the relaunch of topshop.com in August, the problem going through Rashid is nailing Topshop’s core shopper lately. Nostalgic enthusiasts, now of their 30s? Today’s 18-year-olds, no actual reminiscence of Topshop’s heyday?

“Who is the audience? You know, we’re mass, so, of course, we are right the way across the board,” he says. It nonetheless desires to be where the place a mom and daughter, father and son, can store in combination, he says.

“That leans into a really nice foundation for our strategy moving forward. We’re leaning into three key things: product, culture and community, and elevation.”

Shepherdson’s laser center of attention on making Topshop a mecca for well-crafted, trendy clothes remodeled the logo within the early 2000s. Green’s ‘pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap’ philosophy was once arguably its undoing. Little marvel, then, that Rashid stresses the good fortune of Topshop 2.0 might be predicated at the product. Work is already underway right here. Asos boss José Antonio Ramos Calamonte stated it had spent “two years rebuilding the product assortment of Topshop” forward of the relaunch.

“There’s been a focus on getting back to the core foundation of what the brand is, ensuring it’s back to a level that we all know and love,” says Rashid.

Beyond a refocus on high quality design, after 5 years of other people handiest having the ability to store Topshop on-line, Rashid desires to get “real product in front of real people.” For now, that suggests growing pop-up shops. The first came about remaining month with indie report label Defected Records to release its new Talamanca assortment. Guests who controlled to land a price tag by way of social media had been in a position to buy the variability in addition to its most well liked old-school designs whilst they’d cocktails and were given makeovers from an on-site make-up staff. It was once a vintage Topshop retail enjoy as musicians, DJs, and influencers celebrated the logo find it irresistible was once 1999 once more.

“It’s one of the things people have missed,” says Rashid. “The Defected Records basement takeover was our first real-life shop experience. It was pretty amazing – you could see the excitement of people there.”

When it involves the second one part, tradition and neighborhood, Rashid says it’s concerning the target market feeling as though they’ve a say within the revival. “This is a moment in time that we collectively have an opportunity to shape Topshop’s future. So, how do we bring our audience along with us for that?”

A just right instance of the way it’s excited about that is the treasure hunt it created in partnership with artist Russ Jones. Famed for his text-based replicate installations, Jones created 21 distinctive mirrors that includes messages from enthusiasts that had been hidden round London’s Soho. As enthusiasts noticed and shared the paintings, Topshop answered with a message of ‘We Missed Yoo Too.’

“All this content is amplified through social and we want it to have a premium feel but, you know, at speed,” says Rashid. “We’re creating behind-the-scenes content to let people experience that with us.”

Hand-in-hand with this product-first, for-everyone mentality is the go back of newsworthy collaborations. Topshop’s Kate Moss assortment remains to be held up as one of the memorable moments in retail historical past after other people queued the duration of Oxford Street to get their palms at the designs. It was once additionally some of the first manufacturers to spouse with JW Anderson (the newly named ingenious leader at Dior) again when he was once contemporary at the London design scene, in addition to the likes of Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou and Jonathan Saunders, to convey luxurious model to the hundreds. And let’s no longer overlook the short-lived however similarly iconic Beyoncé Ivy Park release, which crashed the web site at the day of release.

“We were regularly featured in a lot of the tier one publications, from Vogue to Elle. And we were known for partnering with amazing and aspirational talent.”

Part of Rashid’s position is to hunt out new designers and collaborators, together with photographers, stylists and editors, to “elevate” the Topshop logo. But with a brand new era of consumers to provoke, Rashid is aware of it might probably’t be a duplicate of the mid-noughties technique.

“I’ll be nurturing that ecosystem. What did that look like back then and what does it look like now? We absolutely should nod to the heritage, but it’s important we look forward. We’re in 2025 and our consumers, you know, consume things, whether it be media, Instagram, clothing. They purchase in different ways. And we need to be mindful and acknowledge that. It’s our job to do new and interesting things, always.

“As you start to see some of the things we’ve got planned, you’ll notice exactly where those marketing strategies lie. Is it product? Is it culture and community? Is it elevation? I think it’ll all make sense as we start to move through the year.”

Rashid doesn’t element the selling price range he’s enjoying with, however says social media – specifically Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest – is on the middle of the media plan. He additionally desires to convey again its YouTube presence later this 12 months. You may just argue Topshop ran one of the a success influencer advertising techniques earlier than it was once even a factor – Alexa Chung, Sienna Miller, Cara Delevigne had been the Topshop ‘It Girls’ who may just promote out a product in mins in the event that they had been pictured dressed in it.

Rashid is extra wary, despite the fact that, on embarking on any primary influencer paintings. Yet.

“I don’t want to kind of replicate anything. We want to pick the best bits and understand what’s going to work today. It’s an interesting one to unpick. And we’re doing a bit of testing, measuring in the background. But we’re thinking about authenticity – the roots of Topshop and Topman centered around music, so you’ll see a lot of that in the people we partner with. What else can I say? We’ve got a number of conversations with lots of interesting people.”

Rashid is similarly evasive about Topshop’s plans to convey again its bricks-and-mortar shops, pronouncing: “We’ve been looking at our roadmap. Will we return to physical retail? It’s very much in our mindset. All I can tell you for now is that you’ll be able to shop Topshop in real life in August.” (Managing director Michelle Wilson hasn’t been relatively so coy, reputedly confirming to Drapers that standalone stores are coming.)