Urban Outfitters
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: URBN) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Key people | Chairman: Richard Hayne Founders: Richard Hayne Scott Belair |
| Industry | Retail (Apparel) |
| Products | Clothing, footwear, housewares |
| Revenue | ▲ $1.50 Billion USD (2007) |
| Net income | ▲ $224.9 Million USD (2007) |
| Employees | 5,100 (2007) |
| Website | www.urbanoutfitters.com |
Urban Outfitters, Inc. NASDAQ: URBN, owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain and Leifsdottir, a recently introduced luxury brand for Anthropologie.[1]
Urban Outfitters originated as "The Free People's Store" and in 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, focusing on "funky" fashion and household products. Shortly thereafter the owner (now Chairman), Richard Hayne, changed the name to Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters line has evolved from vintage, bohemian, retro, ironically humorous, kitschy apparel and furniture to include luxury brands such as Lacoste, Evisu, Diesel, True Religion and Seven for All Mankind.
Headquartered at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Urban Outfitters operates more than 140 locations in the United States, Canada, Republic of Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, and the United Kingdom.
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[edit] 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." [1]
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." [2]
They seek to create "a differential shopping experience, which creates an emotional bond with the 18 to 30 year old target customer we serve." [3]
[edit] Awards
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.[2] For the same campus, Urban Outfitters received the 2007 Global Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute.[3] In March of 2008, to introduce its new Terrain brand, the company entered the Philadelphia Flower Show and won the Alfred M. Campbell Award, the Conservation Award, People’s Choice Award and Best in Show.[4]
[edit] Controversies
The company has sold a number of controversial products, some of which have drawn strong criticism.
In 2003 the company released a Monopoly parody called Ghettopoly. The game was criticised as offensively racist by a local chapter of the NAACP[5] and black clergy[6] among others.
[edit] Products alleged to be anti-Christian
On March 14, 2004, Jesus Dress Up sparked 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.[7] 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,[8] on which it received coverage alongside the premiere 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.[9] 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. [10]
[edit] 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 condemned,[11] 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."[12] The ADL later condemned them for other incidents of insensitivity.[13]
In 2007, complaints by Jewish groups over their sales of keffiyehs (which had been marketed as "antiwar" scarves)[14] led them to cease carrying that item.[15] Urban Outfitters issued a statement “Due to the sensitive nature of this item, we will no longer offer it for sale. We apologize if we offended anyone, this was by no means our intention.” [16]
In May 2008, after concern 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."[17]
[edit] Products alleged to be pro-violence
In 2006, the retailer was criticized [18] 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.[19] On November 15, 2007, the company announced that after the murder of officer Charles Cassidy, the gun-shaped ornament would no longer be sold.[20]
[edit] References
- ^ "Urban Outfitters launches 'Leifsdottir' concept". Yahoo.com, By Mae Anderson, AP Business Writer, June 18 2008. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080618/urban_outfitters_conference.html?.v=1.
- ^ "NTHP Presents Honor Award To Urban Outfitters Corporate Office Campus". National Trust. http://press.nationaltrust.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=183&Itemid=162.
- ^ "ULI Announces Five Winners of the 2007 Global Awards for Excellence Competition". The Urban Land Institute. http://www.uli.org/News/MediaCenter/PressReleases/2007%20archives/Content/Best%20of%20the%20Best%20%20ULI%20Announces%20Five%20Winners%20of%20the%202007%20Global%20Awards%20for%20Excellence%20Competition.aspx.
- ^ "Urban Outfitters’ Terrain". Design Philadelphia, March 2008. http://designphiladelphia.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/urban-outfitters-terrain/.
- ^ "Game's street theme upsets NAACP" — St. Petersburg Times
- ^ "Black leaders outraged at Ghettopoly game at Urban Outfitters" — USA Today
- ^ "‘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
- ^ Site quotes Washington Times
- ^ Paynter, Susan. "Fashion statement sends a hurtful message", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 28, 2004.
- ^ "ADL Welcomes Urban Outfitters' Decision to Discontinue Production of Offensive T-Shirt", Anti-Defamation League, January 9, 2004.
- ^ "Urban Outfitters At It Again", Anti-Defamation League, March 15, 2006.
- ^ Kim, Kibum. "Where Some See Fashion, Others See Politics", The New York Times, February 11, 2007.
- ^ "Iconic Palestinian headdress brings colourful clash to Beirut", Agence France-Presse, December 7, 2008.
- ^ Kim, Kibum. "Where Some See Fashion, Others See Politics", The New York Times, February 11, 2007.
- ^ Ramer, Alison Avigayil. "Fashion wars / U.S. store pulls 'pro-violence' Palestinian T-shirt", Haaretz, May 22, 2008.
- ^ Retailer under fire
- ^ The Philadelphia Inquirer
- ^ Urban Outfitters: Blog
