Urban Outfitters
Encyclopedia
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie
Anthropologie
Anthropologie is a chain of retail stores that sells women's apparel and accessories, home furnishings, imitation found objects and an array of gifts and decorative items.Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company is owned by Urban Outfitters, Inc...
, Free People
Free People
Free People is a retail clothing store which is part of the Urban Outfitters family of companies.-History:In the early 1970s, Dick Hayne opened a store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and he named it Free People. His store attracted the young people who lived and shopped in the area...
, Terrain, and BHLDN.
Urban Outfitters originated as "The Free People's Store" in 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, focusing on "funky" fashion and household products. Shortly thereafter the owner and now Chairman, Richard Hayne
Richard Hayne
Richard Hayne is the president of Urban Outfitters, an American chain of clothing retailers. At a net worth of $1.8 billion, Hayne is the #262 richest person in the U.S. according to the 2008 Forbes 400 list, a ranking of the 400 richest Americans by net worth. He is included in the Top 40 richest...
, changed the name to Urban Outfitters. The product line has evolved from vintage
Vintage clothing
Vintage clothing is a generic term for new or second hand garments originating from a previous era. The phrase is also used in connection with a retail outlet, e.g...
, bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
, retro
Retro
Retro is a culturally outdated or aged style, trend, mode, or fashion, from the overall postmodern past, that has since that time become functionally or superficially the norm once again. The use of "retro" style iconography and imagery interjected into post-modern art, advertising, mass media, etc...
, hipster
Hipster (contemporary subculture)
Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...
, ironically humorous
Irony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
, kitschy apparel and furniture to include luxury brands and several designer collaborations.
Headquartered at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Urban Outfitters operates more than 140 locations in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Customer base and merchandise
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
". They are known for catering to "hipster
Hipster (contemporary subculture)
Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...
" culture and fashion, which incorporates an influence from past decades. 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 says 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."
Urban Outfitters seeks to create "a differential shopping experience, which creates an emotional bond with the 18 to 30 year old target customer we serve." In 2009, it agreed to sell limited editions of Polaroid ONE600 instant cameras and Type 779 instant film
Instant film
Instant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
in partnership with the Austrian entrepreneur Florian Kaps, who acquired the rights to manufacture 700 copies of the defunct product.
Awards
In 2007 Urban Outfitters received the National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic PreservationNational Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
for the Urban Outfitters Corporate Office Campus located on the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...
. For the same campus, Urban Outfitters received the 2007 Global Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute
Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a non-profit research and education organization with offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London...
. In March 2008, to introduce its new Terrain brand, the company entered the Philadelphia Flower Show
Philadelphia Flower Show
The Philadelphia International Flower Show is an annual event produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in early March...
and won the Alfred M. Campbell Award, the Conservation Award, People’s Choice Award and Best in Show.
Product controversies
Urban Outfitters' products have been the subject of multiple controversies, particularly concerning religious and ethnic issues.- In 2003 the company released a MonopolyMonopolyA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
parody called GhettopolyGhettopolyGhettopoly is a Monopoly parody released in 2003. Invented by David Chang, it uses Monopoly-like mechanics in the atmosphere of a caricaturized United States ghetto.-Game:...
. The game was criticized as racist by a local chapter of the NAACP and black clergy, among others. The creator of the game, David Chang, maintained the games are "a medium to bring together in laughter," adding, "If we can't laugh at ourselves... we'll continue to live in blame and bitterness." - Also in 2003, a T-shirt released with the phrase "Everyone Loves a Jewish Girl" surrounded by dollar signDollar signThe dollar or peso sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various peso and dollar units of currency around the world.- Origin :...
s was condemned, though the Anti-Defamation LeagueAnti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
welcomed the decision to discontinue the shirts, saying that it 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." The ADL later expressed "outrage and disgust" at other incidents of insensitivity. - The following year, in 2004 Jesus Dress UpJesus Dress UpJesus Dress Up is a game that was created by artist Normal Bob Smith in 1991 as a black-and-white colorform, which he photocopied and distributed to friends....
, a game created by artist Normal Bob Smith, drew additional critical response. The company allegedly received feedback from an estimated 250,000 emails. Urban Outfitters noted that the magnets, which had been their sixth most popular Christmas toy, were not intended to offend, but rather appeal to their customers' diversity. Urban Outfitters no longer markets the game. - In 2006, the retailer was criticized 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. After the murder of officer Charles Cassidy, the company announced on November 15, 2007 that it would no longer sell the gun-shaped ornament.
- In 2007, complaints by Jewish groups over the company sales of keffiyehKeffiyehThe keffiyeh/kufiya , also known as a ghutrah , ' , mashadah , shemagh or in Persian chafiye , Kurdish cemedanî and Turkish puşi, is a traditional Arab headdress fashioned from a square, usually cotton, scarf. It is typically worn by Arab men, as well as some Kurds...
s (which had been marketed as "antiwar" scarves) led Urban Outfitters to stop carrying that item. 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." - In May 2008, after concern in the Jewish community, Urban Outfitters discontinued a T-shirt that featured a Palestinian child holding an AK-47AK-47The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
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." - In May of 2010 The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
published an article comparing various local Brooklyn artists merchandise to products sold later by Urban Outfitters, claiming they have been stealing people's work and designs. - In May 2011 Stephanie "Stevie" Koerner, a designer who owns an online store on EtsyEtsyEtsy is an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys. Many individuals also sell craft supplies like beads,...
, claimed that Urban Outfitters' "I Heart Destination" necklaces were stolen from her "United World Of Love", which both featured metal chain necklaces of various states with heart shaped holes punched in. Blogger April WinchellApril WinchellApril Terri Winchell is an American actress, writer, voice actor, talk radio host, and commentator. She is the daughter of the late Paul Winchell.-Acting:...
investigated and discovered that the necklaces featured a common design which a number of other artists, both on and outside of Etsy, had been selling for at least a year prior to Koerner's first sale. Additionally, Winchell drew attention to a commenter's discovery of another instance in which Koerner had claimed credit for a design that was not originally hers. Nevertheless, Urban Outfitters removed the product from their online store. - In 2011, the Navajo NationNavajo NationThe Navajo Nation is a semi-autonomous Native American-governed territory covering , occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico...
sent a a cease-and-desist letter to Urban Outfitters, demanding that the company stop using the term "Navajo" for a line of products that include underwear and a liquor flask. The tribe holds at least 10 trademarks on their name and alleges the company of trademark violation and criticism of the product. On October 19, 2011, Urban Outfitters removed the word "Navajo" from product names on its website.
Labor issues
On November 27, 2009, the firm drew the attention of the Swedish press for denying collective bargaining rights to employees at their StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
store by making all 48 workers redundant and re-hiring them through employment agency
Employment agency
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In all developed countries there is a publicly funded employment agency and multiple private businesses which also act as employment agencies.-Public employment agencies:...
Academic Work.
In response to the move, ombudsman
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
Jimmy Ekman called for tougher laws to prevent other firms denying collective bargaining rights in this way.