RUNNING HEAD: The 4 Ps of Urban Outfitters (URBN)

The 4 Ps of Urban Outfitters (URBN)

Individual Application Project

Avery Vermeulen

Washington State University

Erika Schlomer-Fischer, PhD

COMSTRAT 395

December 11, 2023

The 4 Ps of Urban Outfitters (URBN) 1

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a lifestyle retail company with a collection of global

consumer brands that include Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, FP Movement,

Anthropologie Weddings, Terrain, Menus & Venues, and Nuuly. Founded as Urban Outfitters in

1970, its first retail store called Free People, the brand was established by Dick Hayne, Scott

Belair, and Judy Wicks (Urban Outfitters, Inc, 2023a). The company owns over seven hundred

stores worldwide as of 2023, reporting 4.8 billion US dollars in net sales this fiscal year, the

apparel segment alone bringing in 63% of the revenue (Urban Outfitters, 2023). To establish an

identity, URBN states: “We are passionate, creative and entrepreneurial. We create unique retail

experiences with an eye toward creativity and a singular focus on pleasing our customer” (Urban

Outfitters, Inc, 2023b). Its mission, through the URBN collection brands, is to provide a

experiential and well-curated mix of trendy men’s and women’s clothes, and home goods.

URBN utilizes marketing strategies to keep its brand position in the market. To understand

URBN, one must understand the product, price, place, and promotion (the 4 Ps) components of

its marketing mix to identify weakness areas and potential solutions for the company.

URBN’s founding brand, Urban Outfitters, is a clothes and home goods retailer that

focuses on selling trendy products to young men and women. In URBN’s 2008 Form 10-K report

the company self-identified its marketing strategies stating:

Urban Outfitters targets young adults aged 18 to 30 through its unique merchandise mix

and compelling store environment. We have established a reputation with these young

adults, who are culturally sophisticated, self-expressive and concerned with acceptance

by their peer group (SEC).

To properly market towards its target audience, URBN will carefully examine the needs and

wants of consumers to develop a product that satisfies these needs (Belch & Belch, 2021). Urban
The 4 Ps of Urban Outfitters (URBN) 2

Outfitter’s offers retail products that include “women’s and men’s fashion apparel, footwear and

accessories, as well as an eclectic mix of apartment wares and gifts. Apartment wares range from

rugs, pillows and shower curtains to books, candles and novelties” (SEC, 2008). These products

fit right into the company’s target audience and market segmentation, understanding that young

adults have a need for a range of clothing and home good items as they step into adult lives, such

as college students moving to their first dorms. This is why Urban Outfitters also offers loyalty

programs for its target audience, understanding the importance of this service, knowing that “a

customer loyalty program designed to create authentic, lasting relationships with customers by

rewarding devoted members with reward coupons, exclusive offers and unique experiences”

(MarketLine, 2023). This also builds the foundation for URBN’s price strategies.

Urban Outfitters is an expensive brand. To stay relevant and appeal to its target market

the brand states: “We seek to select price points for our merchandise that are consistent with the

spending patterns of our target customers” (SEC, 2008). Reported in 2022, men and women from

Generation Z in the United States were spending an average of over two-hundred dollars a month

on clothing (Knit, 2022). Not only that, “Urban Outfitters scored the highest among Gen Z”

according to another report on fashion affinity amongst consumers under or close in age to 25

years old (Ipsos, 2022). To keep consumers interested in its brand, URBN and Urban Outfitters

price its products using relevant strategies and offer customer loyalty services to keep consumers

coming back to its stores frequently.

To continue to have consumers frequently visit stores and to stay relevant amongst

younger generations, URBN uses key place and promotion strategies as well. Urban Outfitters

utilizes in-person stores and online shopping to distribute goods and services to its consumers.

With over two hundred stores in the United States alone, and an extensive online store that is
The 4 Ps of Urban Outfitters (URBN) 3

accessible through the web and app stores, Urban Outfitters makes it easy for consumers to find

its products. As stated by the brand itself: “The ever-changing mix of products available to our

customers allows us to adapt our merchandise to prevailing fashion trends, and, together with the

inviting atmosphere of our stores, encourages our core customers to visit our stores frequently”

(SEC, 2008). This distribution works in hand with promotion of URBN and Urban Outfitters

products. Defined as “the coordination of all seller-initiated efforts to set up channels of

information and persuasion in order to sell goods and services or promote an idea” Urban

Outfitters uses different promotion strategies to reach consumers (Belch & Belch, 2021).

Keeping up to date with the trends and innovative designs reflects Urban Outfitters strategy to

reach its target audience, understanding that “broad merchandise selection and visual

presentation are key enticements” to keeping an audience’s interest (SEC, 2008). Urban

Outfitters uses direct marketing strategies through its in-person and online stores. But the

company also uses digital marketing through interactive media to reach consumers through

social media and allow two-way communication. Urban Outfitters rewards consumers through its

loyalty program because “members can earn and accumulate points based on purchase activity

and engaging with the brand through social media” (MarketLine, 2023). Social media also

changes how the brand can engage with its consumers, allowing promotions to feel more

personal and reflect the brand image of self-expression, passion, creativity, and more values.

However, the URBN company and foundation company Urban Outfitters still has its

areas of weaknesses. Urban Outfitters’ operational status is not in the best standing due to the

rise in competing brands. Even brands underneath the URBN brand label like Free People and

Anthropologie are continuing to perform well. Urban Outfitters reported an “operating income of

US$226.6 million in FY2023, which fell 44.5% from US$408.6 million in FY2022. This was
The 4 Ps of Urban Outfitters (URBN) 4

due to a decrease in dollars in increase in selling, general and administrative expenses, and a

decrease in gross profit margin” (MarketLine, 2023). However, it is due to Urban Outfitters

“robust business strategies and solid fundamentals” that the company has been able to strengthen

“direct-to-consumer business, enhancing productivity across existing channels and optimizing

inventory levels” (Zacks Equity Research, 2023). Still, this begs the question of if this problem

continues in the future, can URBN and Urban Outfitters bounce back every time? This is why

URBN needs to take further advantage of the global online market and continue to expand its 4

Ps, especially promotion strategies, worldwide. With the continued rise in online shopping

there’s still markets left to explore so it can continue to defy “economic and consumer spending

concerns” every time profits take a fall (Swartz, 2023). This would also allow URBN to continue

its reach in digital and interactive media marketing promotions. With further reach the brand will

continue to gain popularity, expanding brand recognition, reputation, awareness, and

accessibility. Right now, Urban Outfitters only ships to a limited one hundred countries, and with

a demand for more online shopping opportunities, taking advantage of this growing marketing

and establishing the company’s brand in more countries will allow for further growth.

URBN and its founding store Urban Outfitters have an extensive brand profile that have

found success. To understand URBN’s marketing strategies used to build brand identity and

reputation in the market, one must examine the 4 Ps and the importance of their role in URBN’s

marketing. URBN’s products, prices, places, and promotions all reflect the wants and needs of its

target audience to properly serve its market. However, with struggling operational sales URBN

could further utilize global marketing strategies to reach its intended target market further and

continue to build upon its brand.

The 4 Ps of Urban Outfitters (URBN) 5

References:

American Marketing Association. (2023, October 18). The four PS of Marketing.

https://www.ama.org/marketing-news/the-four-ps-of-marketing/

Belch, G. E., & Belch, M. A. (2021). Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing

Communications Perspective [PDF] (12th ed.). McGrawHill.

Forbes Profile. (2023, October). Urban outfitters | company overview & news. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/companies/urban-outfitters/?sh=41068b422acb

Ipsos. (May 27, 2022). Fashion brands which fashion-engaged Gen Z consumers have a high

affinity with compared to other fashion-engaged consumers in the United States in 2022

[Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1328211/gen-z-affinity-fashion-brands/

Knit. (January 31, 2022). Apparel monthly spend on clothing and shoes by Generation Z and

millennials in the United States in 2022, by gender (in U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista.

Retrieved December 12, 2023, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1329837/gen-z-

apparel-monthly-spend-gender/

MarketLine. (2023). COMPANY PROFILE Urban Outfitters Inc. MarketLine.

https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=bb8c2860-d28b-4cfc-

9b30-6a4767fbed3e%40redis

Novak, J. (2023, August 3). The 4 PS of Marketing. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/4-ps-marketing/

Swartz, D. (2023, August 23). Urban outfitters earnings: Strong Performance Based on

execution and differentiated offerings. Morningstar, Inc.

The 4 Ps of Urban Outfitters (URBN) 6

https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/urban-outfitters-earnings-strong-performance-based-

execution-differentiated-offerings

Urban Outfitters. (April 3, 2023). Number of stores operated by Urban Outfitters Inc. worldwide

as of January 2023, by region [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 12, 2023, from

https://www.statista.com/statistics/672148/number-of-urban-outfitters-stores-worldwide-

by-region/

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (2023a). Our History. URBN. https://www.urbn.com/who-we-are/history

Urban Outfitters, Inc. (2023b). Urban Outfitters. URBN.

https://www.urbn.com/our-brands/urban-outfitters

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). (2008). (rep.). URBAN OUTFITTERS, INC.

Retrieved December 11, 2023, from

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/912615/000119312508068073/

d10k.htm#:~:text=Urban%20Outfitters%20targets%20young%20adults,acceptance%20by

%20their%20peer%20group.

Zacks Equity Research. (2023, October 12). Why urban outfitters (URBN) is marching ahead of

Industry. Nasdaq. https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/why-urban-outfitters-urbn-is-marching-

ahead-of-industry