For Urban Outfitters, record holiday sales
Urban Outfitters Inc. is hurtling toward $3 billion in annual revenues as the fast-growing Philadelphia retailer posted record sales over the holidays, despite continued difficulties at its namesake brand, according to financial disclosures Thursday.
Urban Outfitters Inc. is hurtling toward $3 billion in annual revenues as the fast-growing Philadelphia retailer posted record sales over the holidays, despite continued difficulties at its namesake brand, according to financial disclosures Thursday.
Net sales increased 8 percent to $716 million in November and December compared with the same period a year earlier, said the company, whose popular brands include Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, BHLDN, and Urban Outfitters.
Comparable Internet, catalog and store sales, however, which measure the health of a retailer by cutting out new-store numbers, were up only 3 percent, the result partly of a 6 percent drop in revenue at the namesake brand, which has been struggling for some time against stronger performance by its sister brands.
Officials offered no details about what may have gone wrong with Urban's top line.
The company's overall growth momentum, however, has been indisputably potent and reflects a relentless focus by the publicly traded corporation to do anything but stand still.
Just three years ago, Urban's overall annual sales were below $2.3 billion. During the 11 months that ended Dec. 31, 2013, however, revenue soared to $2.9 billion, with one month to go before the close of the fiscal year.
The company has been fierce in expanding its online sales presence and capabilities, a force behind ongoing efforts to expand its Navy Yard headquarters campus. It also has opened stores worldwide while breaking ground recently on a high-tech online-order fulfillment center in Lancaster County.
Urban opened 36 new stores between February and the end of December - nine Anthropologies, 12 Free Peoples, and 15 Urban Outfitters - while closing two. Europe has been a frontier for many of its new stores, though sites continue to be chosen for locations in North America as well.
Particularly strong performers have been higher-fashion Free People, which wholesales to mostly luxury department stores while also running freestanding boutiques, and Anthropologie, the accessories and apparel retailer whose fashions target professional-track women with ample discretionary income.
"Our Anthropologie and Free People brands delivered outstanding results despite the extreme promotional retail environment," said founder and chairman Richard A. Hayne, who also became chief executive in late 2012 after a rocky year for the company.
It was a challenging year for many retailers, as consumers remained vigilant about their spending, given unemployment and income problems. Some companies resorted to markdowns to draw customers over the holidays, which boosts sales at the expense of profits. It was too soon to know how profitable Urban's revenue growth had been.
@Panaritism
