Once millennial fashion royalty, the brand’s sales have now slipped for 9 quarters in a row
Shares in Urban Outfitters Inc. — the parent company behind brands like Anthropologie, Free People, and (unsurprisingly) Urban Outfitters — tumbled 10% yesterday, after the fashion giant’s Q2 revenue failed to measure up to Wall Street expectations.
While the group’s net sales for the quarter still rose to a record $1.35 billion, much of this was driven by growth at its other clothing outlets, as well as the success of apparel rental business Nuuly. Urban Outfitters’ brand, however, saw sales drop 9% from the year prior.
A millennial favorite for trendy attire and interiors, Urban Outfitters soared in popularity throughout the ‘10s — with the hipster mainstay even rebounding from a pandemic slump, reaching a record quarterly revenue of $474M at the end of 2021. Recently, though, UO seems to be struggling to transition to Gen Z’s tastes, with sales dropping for 9 quarters in a row (year-on-year).
Indeed, in Wednesday’s earnings call, Urban Outfitters’ president for North America said that the brand had "lost focus" of its customer base, and needed to broaden its “traditionally alternative sensibility”. The goal? Make Urban Outfitters cool again.
