It’s one thing to have an all-singing, all-dancing flagship store, but quite another to successfully carry that halo across a chain.

Topshop on Oxford Street is sometimes afforded the tag ’Fashion Central’. It’s very good and it’s a flagship, just like so many other stores along this ultra high-profile shopping thoroughfare. This is the shining light for the rest of a substantial chain and shoppers flock to peruse its offer and to soak up some of the atmosphere that makes a trip to London’s West End worthwhile.

The Topshop flagship store at Oxford Circus

The Topshop flagship store at Oxford Circus

The Topshop flagship store at Oxford Circus

But what about those who don’t make it up to town? There’s always Salisbury, where there is an outpost with the same name over the door. Walk into this one and the mid-floor equipment is a little tired, chipped around its base and some of the in-store signage isn’t straight.

Yes, there is music and yes there is fashion, but much of the razzamatazz that is associated with Oxford Street is signally absent.

“How can retailers take the aura that is created around a West End flagship and spread the love out to the provinces?”

John Ryan

All of this could be overlooked – after all, isn’t this a shop where wannabe fashionistas go to get fab gear and upon exiting the store all that’s required is to enjoy the purchase that has been made. Well yes, but there is the little matter of payment. At the cash desk a member of staff apologised for the seemingly interminable wait for a receipt to be produced. “I’m sorry, it’s been like this for more than a month,” said the Saturday sales associate.

Hmm. Well, the sale went ahead anyway, but it was quite hard to avoid the sense that this was an almost completely different world from the shining light on Oxford Street. Which rather begs the question, how can retailers take the aura that is created around a West End flagship and spread the love out to the provinces?

Maintaining an eye for detail

One way might be to exercise a little of the care that is undoubtedly available in central London and to look at a branch with a critical pair of eyes when deciding how to lay out, merchandise and maintain a store outside the capital. There is little reason why a smaller store than the one to which the rest of a chain looks for direction should make a shopper feel short-changed. It’s a matter of focus.

That said, this particular store was still considerably better than many of the others in central Salisbury, which appeared decidedly second best when set against London leviathans. Shoppers outside London deserve better. Store quality should be balanced across the whole chain, big or small, and it might mean more sales.