Topps Tiles bosses could be forgiven if they feel frustrated at the way that the specialist tiles retailer’s large number of branches leads to assumptions that it is a bellwether for consumer trends. The idea seems to be that operating 375 stores means its performance can be extrapolated across the rest of the retail sector and the wider economy (Miles Costello writes).
In Topps Tiles’s case, this is supposed to be all the more so because tiles are a larger one-off purchase, apparently linked to trends in the housing market.
Isn’t this rather outdated? Consumers are no lumpen group: there are millennials and traditionals, younger, older, lovers of modern and vintage, with different spending patterns and preferences. The retail sector, where Topps Tiles stores tend