Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] It operates in the United States, Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Israel, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates.[4] The Urban Outfitters brand targets young adults with a merchandise mix of women's and men's fashion apparel, footwear, beauty and wellness products, accessories, activewear and gear, and housewares, as well as music, primarily vinyl records and cassettes. Much of the merchandise is designed and produced by the company's wholesale division on multiple private labels.[5]

Urban Outfitters, Inc.
TypePublic
IndustryRetail
Founded1970 (1970) (as Free People)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
FoundersRichard Hayne
Judy Wicks
Scott Belair
Headquarters
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
,
U.S.
Number of locations
248 (2020)[1]
Area served
  • United States
  • India
  • Belgium
  • Canada
  • Denmark
  • France
  • Germany
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Netherlands
  • Pakistan
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom
  • Spain
  • Italy
  • Austria
  • Poland
Key people
Richard Hayne
(Chief executive officer)
Products
  • Clothing
  • accessories
  • cosmetics
  • footwear
  • housewares
  • music
Revenue US$ 3.9 Billion (2019)[1]
US$ 231 million (2019)[1]
US$ 168 million (2019)[1]
Total assets US$ 3.3 Billion (2019)[1]
Total equity US$ 1.4 Billion (2019)[1]
OwnerRichard Hayne (19.9%)[2]
Number of employees
24,000[1] (2019)
Subsidiaries
Website

The company was founded as the retail store Free People by Richard Hayne, Judy Wicks, and Scott Belair in 1970 as a project for an entrepreneurship class at University of Pennsylvania.[6] It was renamed to Urban Outfitters and incorporated in 1976.[6]

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) carries multiple stores within the URBN portfolio of brands, which also includes Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, BHLDN and the Vetri Family restaurant group.[5]

Corporate history
Urban Outfitters store in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Urban Outfitters is a lifestyle related retailer which specializes in selling apparel, clothing accessories and apartment products.[7] It primarily targets teens and young adults who are interested in hipster subculture and alternative fashion.[8]

In 2007, Urban Outfitters received the National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the Urban Outfitters Corporate Office Campus located on the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard.[9]

In 2011, it agreed to sell limited editions of Polaroid ONE600 instant cameras and Type 779 instant film in partnership with the Austrian entrepreneur Florian Kaps, who acquired the rights to manufacture 700 copies of the defunct product.[10] In January 2013, it hired the Abraham & Roetzel lobbying firm, led by former Republican Sen. Spencer Abraham, to advocate on its behalf in Washington, D.C., regarding retail industry policy.[11]

In Q4 2015, the company announced plans to acquire the Vetri Family, a Philadelphia restaurant group. As the company is facing declining same store sales and foot traffic, the acquisition illustrates the retailer's shift in strategy. This includes restaurants Amis Trattoria, Bar Amis, and Pizzeria Vetri. There are two Pizzeria Vetri locations in Philadelphia, with other locations in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and Washington DC.[12]

In 2019, the company drew attention by announcing the sale of used VHS tapes for $40.[13]

Urban Outfitters' products have also been the subject of multiple complaints and criticism, largely from religious, ethical, and ethnic pressure groups including a local chapter of the NAACP,[14][15] Anti-Defamation League[16] and Navajo Nation for some of their products.

Labor practices

On November 27, 2009, URBN drew the attention of the Swedish press for denying collective bargaining rights to employees at their Stockholm store by making all 38 workers redundant and re-hiring them through employment agency Academic Work.[17][18] In response to the move, ombudsman Jimmy Ekman called for tougher laws to prevent other firms denying collective bargaining rights in this way.[19]

Urban Outfitters does not publicly disclose which factories produce the brand's clothing.[20]

References
  1. "URBAN OUTFITTERS INC 2019 Annual Report Form (10-K)". United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 25 June 2020.
  2. "Urban Outfitters form def 14A". Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  3. "Asian Urban Outfitters Exec: Millennial Staffers Called Me "Mr. Miyagi"". Philadelphia Magazine. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  4. Hughes, Huw (2019-05-31). "Urban Outfitters picks Warsaw for first Central European store". fashionunited.uk. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  5. "urbn-10k_20190131.htm". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-29.
  6. "History". URBN. Retrieved 2018-04-03.
  7. https://www.urbanoutfitters.com
  8. Bondarenko, Veronika (August 28, 2017). "Urban Outfitters is more mainstream than ever — now it's struggling to stay relevant". Business Insider. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  9. "NTHP Presents Honor Award To Urban Outfitters Corporate Office Campus". National Trust.
  10. Karen von Hahn, "Mama, don't take my Polaroid away", Globe and Mail, page L3, September 5, 2009
  11. Center for Public Integrity
  12. Elliot, Peter (July 20, 2016). "This Is the Reason Urban Outfitters Bought a Pizza Chain". Bloomberg News.
  13. http://www.purplerevolver.com/movies/movie-news/127625-urban-outfitters-launch-random%2C-used-vhs-sets-for-%2440.html
  14. "Game's street theme upsets NAACP" — St. Petersburg Times
  15. "Black leaders outraged at 'Ghettopoly' game at Urban Outfitters". USAtoday, 10/9/2003. October 9, 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  16. "ADL Welcomes Urban Outfitters' Decision to Discontinue Production of Offensive T-Shirt", Anti-Defamation League, January 9, 2004.
  17. "Sparkas efter krav på kollektivavtal". Aftonbladet, By Catarina Håkansson, November 27, 2009.
  18. "Sparkas efter krav på kollektivavtal". Dagenshandel.se, By Jesper Stärn, November 27, 2009.
  19. "Antingen skriver man på eller blir uppsagd". Svenska Dagbladet, By Negra Efendić, November 27, 2010.
  20. Kashyap, Aruna. "When Clothing Labels Are a Matter of Life or Death". The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
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