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URBN history
URBN company history timeline
Urban Outfitters was discovered in 1970's.
In 1976 he moved to larger quarters near the university, changed the store's name to Urban Outfitters, and incorporated the company.
In 1980, with sales around $3 million, Hayne opened a second store, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, close to several colleges.
For a while, the line took on many personalities: bulldog, Ecote, Cooperative, Anthropologie and then in 1984 a new life was breathed into the name Free People.
Michael Schultz joined the company in 1986 as president of Urban Wholesale, Inc.
In 1990, the division replaced its signature Urban Outfitters collection brand with three separate labels: Ecote, Free People, and Anthropologie.
Ecote produced solid and printed casual rayon dresses in styles ranging from baby dolls to A-lines and made up about 60 percent of the business in 1991.
In 1991, sales increased 17.3 percent to $43.9 million.
In 1993, Urban Outfitters stores averaged approximately 9,000 net selling square feet.
In 1993, the company initiated it "Shared Fate" program, designed to increase team management and give every employee the responsibility and authority to make decisions to increase productivity.
Overall company sales grew by 30 percent from 1993.
In 1993, URBN sold shares in an initial public offering for $18 a share.
By 1994, shipments of Urban Wholesale outside the United States, particularly to Japan, was six percent of total sales.
In 1994 he opened three new Urban Outfitters stores, two in Chicago and one in Pasadena, and indicated that he planned to open three or four new stores each year for next three years, some of which might be located outside the United States, in Canada and/or Europe.
Barrett, Amy, "Hot Growth Companies," Business Week , May 22, 1995.
La Franco, Robert, "It's All About Visuals," Forbes , May 22, 1995.
The three Anthropologie stores operating in 1995 cater to the over-30, upscale, suburban shopper, offering clothing, furniture, bedding, tablewares, and gifts.
According to a 1995 Forbes story, Hayne spent $4 million a year on salaries and expenses for over 75 young fashion buyers who checked out neighborhoods in the United States, London, and Paris to report on hot trends.
In 1998, Anthropologie launched its direct-to-consumer catalog.
Urban Outfitters was the first brand of the URBN portfolio to cross the Atlantic in 1998, opening a store on Kensington High in London.
The company opened its first Free People store in the Garden State Plaza Mall in Paramus, New Jersey, in November 2002.
During 2003, approximately 20 Anthropologie stores opened their doors while 20 Urban Outfitters locations were added to the company's growing arsenal.
By 2005, there were over 75 Urban Outfitters stores in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Over 65 Anthropologie stores accounted for nearly 39 percent of net sales in 2005.
Our next eatery, Terrain Cafe, was an unexpected success that grew from a unique retail concept opened by URBN in 2008. terrain began with its flagship location in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania opened on the site of the historic J. Franklin Styer’s Nursery.
Starting out online only, BHLDN opened its first free-standing location in Houston, Texas, in August 2011.
Captivated by the bustling Philadelphia food scene, URBN expanded their food and beverage presence with the acquisition of The Vetri Family Restaurant Group in 2015, which included an array of Italian restaurant concepts.
July 2019, URBN launched Nuuly, a new way to experience clothing—a monthly rental subscription service with a robust offering of URBN’s own brands, third-party labels and one-of-a-kind vintage pieces for rent via a custom-built, digital platform.
©2022 Urban Outfitters, Inc.
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URBN competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Von Maur | 1872 | $620.0M | 5,000 | 238 |
| Rural King | 1960 | $1.0B | 6,400 | 788 |
| Petco Holdings, Inc. | 2012 | $4.4B | 25,000 | 1,522 |
| Neiman Marcus Group | 1907 | $4.9B | 13,500 | 11 |
| Anthropologie | 1992 | $5.6B | 5,012 | - |
| Holiday Stationstores | 1928 | $1.0B | 6,000 | - |
| Hobby Lobby | 1972 | $5.0B | 43,000 | 862 |
| Paradies Lagardère | 1960 | $1.0B | 3,000 | 274 |
| Coach | 1941 | $6.7B | 30,000 | 602 |
| RH | 1979 | - | 4,500 | 701 |
URBN history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of URBN, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about URBN. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at URBN. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by URBN. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of URBN and its employees or that of Zippia.
URBN may also be known as or be related to URBN, Urban Outfitters, Urban Outfitters Inc, Urban Outfitters Wholesale, Inc. and Urban Outfitters, Inc.