Four Urban Outfitters Inc. brands come together at KOP Mall

Hey, the gang's all here!

The Urban Outfitters store at King of Prussia Mall just got some serious company as sister brands Free People, Anthropologie, and Pizzeria Vetri Square Pie moved into the same area at King of Prussia Mall.

Anthropologie & Co. and Free People officially opened new stores at 10 a.m. Friday, along with Pizzeria Vetri Square Pie's new venue - the first in a mall - at 11 a.m.

Flagship store Urban Outfitters had its grand reopening to show off its newly renovated space in the mall's Pavilion on Thursday.

But please don't call this a "clustering" of the four brands, which are owned by hometown retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN on the New York Stock Exchange).

"We like to refer to it as 'co-locating,' and we are only doing this at King of Prussia Mall," said Oona McCullough, head of investor relations for Urban Outfitters Inc., at Thursday night's preopening party.

Free People is known for its cutting-edge, bohemian women's fashions, and Anthropologie for its curated assortment of women's apparel, accessories, home furnishings, decor, and gifts.

The Urban Outfitters store sells "modern, urban chic," said regular Warren Biswas, 28, of Chestnut Hill, who bought a pair of jeans for $90 and a cap for $25 while attending the party Thursday. "The clothes have that hipster vibe to them - of matching the old with the new."

In late 2015, the company announced it was buying Marc Vetri's restaurant group (except his fine-dining flagship on Spruce Street). It closed on the deal this year for about $19 million.

Urban Outfitters Inc. acknowledged in April 2016 that it had leased an additional 40,000 square feet of space near its namesake store on the mall's second level. Even then, though, McCullough insisted that the investment was an opportunity "unique only to KOP mall."

On Thursday night, McCullough confirmed that: "Pizzeria Vetri is a stand-alone concept and will not be put in any of our stores, nor do we have plans to put any near our stores except the KOP location."

The grouping of Urban Outfitters Inc. brands generated a lot of excitement Thursday.

"It's awesome! This is all wonderful," said Anthropologie loyalist Mary Dellamonico-Mitnica, 60, of Glen Mills, as she took a selfie with best friend Magda Magdakaras at the entrance of Anthropologie, which sits across from the Urban Outfitters store. "The decor is fabulous. I like their style and buyers."

Next door is Free People, which sits across from Pizzeria Vetri. "We're very excited opening in this location," pizzeria general manager Seth Hurlbert said. "This is a tremendous opportunity for people to come and see what we have to offer and what the other brands are offering."

Urban Outfitters Inc. is doubling the size of many of its Anthropologie stores - such as the one at the KOP mall.

"Obviously, they've made a decision this is a very good mall yielding good results, and they are investing a lot of stores in this mall," said national retail consultant Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates Inc., in New York. "Second, and equally critical, by having four or five formats in the mall, it puts Urban Outfitters in a much stronger negotiating position with the developer," in terms of rent, length of lease, renewal, and options. Third, the consumer gets a choice of different formats, all of them successful."

sparmley@phillynews.com

215-854-4184 @SuzParmley