Urban Outfitters
| File:URBN logo.gif | |
| Company type | Public (Nasdaq: URBN) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Apparel) |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
Key people | Chairman: Richard Hayne Founders: Richard Hayne Scott Belair |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, housewares |
| Revenue |  $1.13 Billion USD (2004) |
| $448.61 Million USD (2005) | |
Number of employees | 7,500 (2006) |
| Website | www.urbanoutfitters.com |
Urban Outfitters, Inc. Nasdaq: URBN, owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain and Leifsdottir, a newly introduced wholesale chain to Anthropologie.[1]
Urban Outfitters originated as a store called "The Free People's Store", which opened in 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focusing on "funky" fashion and household products. Later the owner, Richard Hayne, changed the name to Urban Outfitters. Today, the Urban Outfitters line has expanded from vintage, bohemian, retro, ironically humorous, kitschy, and oddly designed apparel and furniture to include many luxury brands such as Lacoste, Evisu, Diesel, True Religion and Seven for All Mankind. Currently headquartered in the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Urban operates more than 140 shops in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
On the 1st of May 2008, Urban Outfitters expanded its growing list of stores in the United Kingdom by opening its first store in Leeds.
Customer base and merchandise
Urban Outfitters has been described as selling hip, kitschy, and ironic merchandise, for example, T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Jive Turkey" or "Atari." [2]
According to their website, Urban Outfitters' "established ability to understand our customers and connect with them on an emotional level is the reason for our success." The site goes on to say that "The reason for this success is that our brands... are both compelling and distinct. Each brand chooses a particular customer segment, and once chosen, sets out to create sustainable points of distinction with that segment" and that "The emphasis is on creativity. Our goal is to offer a product assortment and an environment so compelling and distinctive that the customer feels an empathetic connection to the brand and is persuaded to buy." [3]
They seek to create "a differential shopping experience, which creates an emotional bond with the 18 to 30 year old target customer we serve." [4]
Controversies
The company has sold several controversial products, some of which have drawn strong condemnation.
In early 2004 the company advertised t-shirts bearing the slogan "Voting is for Old People." During the media hubbub that followed, journalists revealed that the president of Urban Outfitters, Richard Hayne, had contributed $13,150 to Republican Senator Rick Santorum.[2]
The store has also, allegedly without permission, used designs created by small, independent clothing lines; namely, Johnny Cupcakes, Crown Farmer and Princess Tina.[citation needed]
On Saint Patrick's Day in 2006 they began selling shirts that read, "Erin Go F**k Yourself", a parody of the Irish phrase "Erin Go Bragh".[citation needed]
Products alleged to be anti-Christian
On March 14, 2004, Jesus Dress Up sparked national controversy when a Philadelphia man, known only as "Gerry", voiced his outrage after seeing the magnets at an Urban Outfitters store in the King of Prussia mall.[3] He wrote a letter of complaint to the chain and brought his story to his local NBC affiliate WCAU-TV when he received their response: Urban Outfitters stated that the magnet was not being sold to offend anyone, but to reflect a diversity of opinion among its customer base.
The story was broadcast on NBC in Philadelphia, then MSNBC’s Scarborough Country,[4] on which it received coverage alongside the premier of The Passion of the Christ.
Urban Outfitters received more than 250,000 complaints, due mostly to organizational efforts from activism group websites sponsored by the American Family Association.[5] Following the controversy on March 17, Urban Outfitters cancelled its remaining orders with the artist and publicly stated that they would no longer order the magnets to carry on their shelves but would sell their remaining stock.
Products alleged to be anti-Jewish or anti-Israel
A T-shirt released in 2003 with the phrase "Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl" surrounded by dollar signs was repeatedly condemned [6], though the Anti-Defamation League welcomed the decision to discontinue the shirts, saying that they hoped "that this experience, combined with another recent controversy surrounding an Urban Outfitters product that reinforced stereotypes, has served to sensitize the company to the sensibilities of its customer base and all ethnic groups." [7]. The ADL later condemned them for other incidents of insensitivity.[8]
In 2007, complaints by Jewish groups over their sales of keffiyehs (which had been marketed as "antiwar" scarves) [9]. led them to cease carrying that item, but have since brought the scarves back to stores.[10].
Products alleged to be pro-violence
In 2006, the retailer has come under fire [11][12] for offering sparkly handgun-shaped Christmas ornaments in its hometown of Philadelphia - a city that had seen over 1,700 shootings and over 300 gun-related murders for the year [13] , through the end of November, 2006. [14] On November 15, 2007, the company announced that after the murder of officer Charles Cassidy, the gun-shaped ornament would no longer be sold.[15]
In May 2008, after outrage in the Jewish community, Urban Outfitters discontinued a T-shirt that featured a Palestinian child holding an AK-47 over the word "Victimized." According to a company representative, "[W]e do not buy items to provoke controversy or to intentionally offend. We have pulled this item in all of our locations and will no longer be selling it online either." [16]
References
- ^ "Urban Outfitters launches 'Leifsdottir' concept". Yahoo.com, By Mae Anderson, AP Business Writer, June 18 2008.
- ^ Hayne's political contributions
- ^ "‘Dress-Up Jesus’ Creator Reacts to NBC 10 Story", NBC 10 Philadelphia
- ^ "Urban Outfitters Dumps ‘Jesus Dress Up’ Magnet Sets", Cybercast News Service
- ^ "Urban Outfitters dumps ‘Jesus Dress Up’", American Family Association
- ^ Jewish Girl shirt controversy
- ^ ADL press release
- ^ ADL condemnation
- ^ NYTimes Kaffiyeh Fashion
- ^ "Dateline World Jewry", April 2007, World Jewish Congress
- ^ Retailer under fire
- ^ Handgun oraments
- ^ The Philadelphia Inquirer
- ^ [1]
- ^ Urban Outfitters: Blog
- ^ Palestinian child holding AK-47 tshirt