Urban Outfitters Situational Report

Joining up the Dots

Urban Outfitters Situational Report Dominika Rekas Word Count: 1,860

Content 1. Introduction pg 1 2. Macro Environment pg 3-8

-Primary Research Findings pg 3

-PESTLE Report pg 4-6

-Trends pg 7-8 3. Micro Environment pg 10-19

-Market Health pg 10

-4 P’s pg 11-12

-Communicating Channels pg 13-14

-Competitors pg 15-18 4. Brand Audit pg 20-26

-Brand Mission,Promise & Strategy pg 20-21

-Brand as a... pg 22

-Store Interior pg 23-24

-Target Audience: Pen Portraits pg 25-26 5. Brand Health Check pg 27-31

-Bad Publicity pg 27

-Urban Renewal Collection pg 28

-Diverse Advertising pg 29

-SWOT Analysis pg 30

-Ansoff Matrix pg 31

-Conclusion pg 32

Ethics Clause I confirm that this work has gained ethical approval and that I have faithfully observed the terms of approval in the conduct of this project.

Signed....................................................

Date .../.../......

In order for a brand to grow and develop we need to understand it’s current situation in the market.

The objective of this report is to create a detailed review of Urban Outfitters and their current marketing environment. Reviewing their successes, understand the current growth barriers and major issues which will help the brand address them and develop for the future.

The tittle being “Joining up the Dots� due to the current situation of the brand which will be explained through a detailed analysis of the way Urban Outfitters have been managing the company.

page 1

MACRO ENVIRONMENT

Primary Research The objective of our research was to find out what the public thinks about the brand, whether they’re the customers, used to be the customer but aren’t anymore or if they even know about the brand. We wanted to get a feel of what people think about Urban Outfitters. To start off we informally asked individuals what they think about the brand and noticed that a lot of people thought the shop was too expensive for their budgets.

To support those statements we conducted a questionnaire to see if price was an issue for most people (apendix fig 4). Out of the 42 that answered, 38% ranked UO and 8 in terms of price with 10 being expensive. In another questionnaire (apendix fig 2), we wanted to judge how effective the brand’s current online presence is. This quantitative research enabled us to collect a lot of data and analyse the most popular opinions. Out of the 105 questionnaires answered, 63 have said that they follow UO on Instagram.

Judging the brand’s situation it has come apparent that the pricing is indeed too high for the majority of the audience asked. We asked questions with scales (apendix fig 3) for example ‘What do you think of the price?’ We also asked if the audience follows UO on any social media they have.

This way we could see which one is the most effective and why. Out of the showed Instagram as the most effective social media platform. I believe this is because of how visual and easy to use it is.

As part of the ethics, voluntary Participation was agreed between all participants.

page 3

PESTLE Analysis Political

Economical

Social

Political issues have been a big part for the Gen Z generation particularly in the year 2016. With major events occuring eg Brexit or the US elections, young adults have been forced to engage with what’s happening around them. “Even for brands, it’s becoming more difficult to avoid taking a stand - those that sit on the sidelines risk missing out on important conversations, or even alienating consumers who seek a better alignment with their values.”[1] “In a 2016 study on the relationship between business and politics, the Global Strategy Group found that public awareness of corporate stances on political events hit an all-time high in 2016, having nearly doubled since 2014. “[2] One of the biggest issues facing the youth now is the rise in tuition fees for university.

“Tuition fees have tripled to an annual charge of £9,000, burdening students with more debt.”[3] It’s also become apparent that university students don’t necessarily secure more paid jobs. “House of Commons report revealed that only half of university graduates had managed to secure graduate-level jobs.”[4] This means that they’re in dept and aren’t able to pay it back. Higher priced products isolate the audience that can’t afford it, no matter how good it’s quality is.

“The number of young adults, 18-29, grew from 9.2 million to 10.3 million between 2005 and 2014.”[5] This is a benefit for the retail environment at this moment in time as the target audience is bigger than last year hence bigger audience to reach. However the number is “expected to decline by 1.8% to below 10.1 million by 2020 following a drop in the teenage population.“[6]Knowing that information we can plan how to reach into a wider audience therefore makeup for the loss. Drinking amongst teenagers has declined over the last decade, “16- to 24-year-olds engaging in binge drinking has fallen from 29% to 18% .”[7] This affects the product that shops produce for their customers.

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Technological

Legal

Internet shopping has become such a phenomenon where it’s almost a disadvantage not to have a store online, “64% of 25- to 34-year-olds bought clothes online” according to Euromonitor. [8] “Young adults are increasingly getting tech dependent, 47% say they would miss their smartphones the most, ahead of their TV and PC.” [9]Every day we get new content, new apps and a new way of communicating. “16- to 24-year-olds cram over 14 hours of media and communications activity into 9 hours 8 minutes each day by multi-tasking and using different devices at the same time.”[10] It’s not a topic that seems to pass since it’s such a big platform with so many opportunities. Everyday there is something new. Young adults have become very dependant on their phones and would class them as their “top necessity ahead of food, water and shelter. 60% said they wouldn‘t last a day without the Internet.”[11] The choice of consuming information through video is “unique to Young Adults of this generation, video allows for a deeper emotional connection between the content creator and the viewers.”[12] In the 20th century, young people have been creating their own careers for example the rise of the bloggers or youtubers. “YouTube celebrities give their audience an authentic perspective on popular trends and products.”[13] One of the biggest legal issues facing young adults has been unemplyment. “18- to 24-year-olds account for 12.6% of the total labour force, but make up 31.3% of the rise in unemployment.”[14] This effetcs the gen z consumer which will have a smaller disposable income. “The fall in national unemployment rates has benefited workers aged 35-49 proportionately more than those aged 18-24.”[15] The unemploment amongst young adults also leads to moving back in with their parents, especially university graduates. After completing university they don’t have secured high pay jobs which means they have to move back home.

Environmental The younger generation is increasingly becoming more aware of the environment and

how their spending affects it. In a study conducted, “48% have avoided a product or service because of a poor reputation in that area.”[16] People are starting to starting to see the necessity of looking after the environment and that brands need to have an input in this. It’s seen as an advantage to speak out or actively support environmental causes. “88% of UK and US millennials and generation Xers believe brands need to do more good, not just less bad.”[17] The fashion industry produces lots of environmental waste including pesticides used in cotton farming, toxic dyes and emergence of fast fashion and the effects it has on land waste.

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In terms of the legal environment, we can see that the UO target audience is in financial troubles therefore have less spending money. This affects the pricing of the products and that they should be lowered to maintain a level of income. Also, due to the fall in binge drinking UO could perhaps move away from such themes in their products as previously they encouraged it for example selling hipflasks.

In terms of technology, retail brands need to advance with it so that they stay in the customer’s radar rather than get distracted by the competitors. UO already have online stores however it would be a good opportunity to invest in it’s promotion eg TV adverts. With the rise of bloggers it would also be a good opportunity to do some work with well known bloggers. Looking at the political side, having controversies in the past, UO should really take up the opportunity of target audience awareness on politics and maybe even bring in a bigger audience.

page 6

DIVERSITY

KEY MACRO TRENDS

Trends affect the future of the brand therefore Urban Outfitters need to be aware of them to progress. Specifically, I’ve looked at how the mega trend of diversity is emerging for example Untabooing Womanhood

[18]

-Periods, armpit hair, underwear hygiene etc -Topic spoken about much more -More exclusive and less embarrassing -Eg Elvie - pelvic floor tracker

New frontiers of diversity

-Idea of pushing the boundaries -Showing models with genetic conditions -eg Madeline Stuart - Downsyndrome model walks for FTL Moda for Fashion Week

[19]

Key Implications of Macro Trends on Urban Outfitters -Different approach to advertising. UO need to promote diversity to stay on the good side of the consumers.

-Diverse products. With gender blurring, women are more likely to shop in the mens section and men in womens. A unisex section would be a possible option for Urban Outfitters. Womanhood is also more spoken about and UO could benefit from this trend. Hygine products with interesting packaging would be a possibility for the brand to stand out amongst their competitors as you don’t see such products in most high street shops.

page 7

MICRO Environment

Current Market Health There is growth for the brand but its a very slow progress. Because the brand has a very set mindset of how they want to present themselves it disadvantages them as they don’t focus on the picture. They don’t join the dots together between one aspect of the business and another. An example would be the recent advertising controversy (in depth on page 27_).

Fig 1 shows Urban Outfitters in comparison to it’s competiors over the past 5 years. [20]

Key drivers

“Women aged 16-24 are the most fickle beauty shoppers with 30% using five or more stores in the last year.

Competition is increasing in this segment as fashion retailers like H&M, Urban Outfitters and New Look launch or extend their beauty offering.”

Major retail brands have been encorporating beauty [21] lines within their stores as a way to bring the female customers in. Clothing can sometimes be expensive and women are more likely to spend their money on makeup than clothes as it’s the cheaper option. Retail brands having their own makeup lines in stores gives the customers the ability to spend more disposable income.

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P r o d u c t Urban Outfitters sells a wide variety of products such as menswear and womenswear, beauty items and gifts.

The products aim at the hipster audience who seek originality from the mainstream.

For example. this is reflected in their beauty as they sell brands which are either exclusive to UO or not sold in most places.

A lot of their products are also vegan.

The clothes although fit the recent trends, most of the time differ from other high street shops.

4 P’s

P r i c e The brand has an exclusivity factor due to its price. The audience however that it’s targeting doesn’t fit the price range that they offer.

Nonetheless their products are very quirky and original which makes them more exclusive.

P l a c e Urban Outfitters is an American brand, there are around 200 stores just in the US. In 1998 Urban Outfitters expanded internationally opening a store on Kensington High P r o m o t i o n in London. Since then many Urban Outfitters don’t focus more flagship stores opened worldwide. much on their promotion. They

don’t do many campaigns and rather focus on the products and the shop spaces therefore let the products speak for themselves.

Nonetheless, over the past year or 2, UO have been doing some campaigns promoting diversity to come across as an ethical brand. This includes their collab with Adidas and the recent campaign featuring a transgender model.

UO also have an Instagram, Pinterest, Blog, Youtube, Twitter & Facebook. Their most popular social media platform would be Instagram as it’s the one that’s updated a lot and it’s what the target audience mostly use. page 12

CommunicatinG Channels

Referring back to the face-to-face questionnaire (apendix fig 3), 63 out of 105 participants followed UO on Instagram.

Looking at their main account follower count (6.4 million)[22], Instagram is the brands’ most popular communicating channel.

The platform however doesn’t require much attention. We absorb images very fast but we also forget them very easily therefore it could be said that the platform isn’t actuallly bringing the brand sales.

page 13

Competitors Analysis For primary research, we conducted an online questionnaire to see where young adults shop mostly. From the results (fig 2.) New Look, Primark, Topshop and H&M seem to be the most

page 15

popular between the 43 participants that took part. Nonetheless the main Urban Outfitters’ competitors are American Apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch and Topshop.

-Massive decline within the past couple of years, shops closing down including flagship stores in main cities.[23] - In 2015 the brand announced filing for US bankruptcy protection in October 2015.

[24] -Currently the brand is reducing their prices to make up for the loss of income[25] -Caught in controversies with their advertising. Often classed as soft core porn.[26]

page 16

-’Only cool kids’ brand, “the one-stop shop for aspiring frat boys, and other assorted bros who wanted to look like they belonged at Greek Week keg parties”[27] -In 2006 the CEO Mike Jeffries told Salon that he doesn’t want unattractive customers [28] -Aiming at the 18-25 year olds page 17

-Not majorly inclusive, distancing themselves from the customers who don’t fit their brand image -A&F earned a spot in the Sweatshop Hall of Fame for working with a factory in the Philippines that won’t let its employees unionize.[29]

-Hightstreet clothing brand with an indie/ vintage theme - Boutique’s recent vintage collection[30] -As well as selling Topshop own brand, it also sells other brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Adidas. [31] -Great comparison to UO in terms of aesthetic, however more successful -Major collaborations eg Kate Moss, Christopher Kane & Meadham Kirchhoff[32]

-Competition for UO for the beauty sector, Topshop has their own brand and a beauty hub page[33] page 18

Is diversity really that important?

The competitive brand positioning map demonstrates how the brand is doing in comparison to some of it’s competitors. Comparing UO to Primark which although differs majorly in term of price, it’s a good comparison when looking at diversity. Primark offers a wide variety of product from clothes, to homeware but also caters for the bigger sizes which can go up to 22. [34]UO has their L/XL sizes however they are considerably smaller in comparison to it’s competition’s sizes. In this case, Primark wins with being cheap and able to cater to the more curvy. page 19

BRAND AuDIT

Brand Mission

We will inspire and encourage individuality for today's youth. We will provide premium quality with an original, vibrant style in an attempt to promote self-expression.

page 20

Brand Promise

“Strive to connect with our customers through unique products and engaging store design” [35]

Strategy

“We preserve the original features, a trait that has become our signature look. It’s about maintaining a layered history, but infusing a new, fresh atmosphere.” [36]

Brand as ... ...a person -Hipster -Quirky -Aiming at a specific community -Involve consumers - student night - DJ’s -Consumer loyalty

...a symbol Rustic/Urban colours Vintage interior

...an organisation -Global brand -Stores in big cities -Accessible online

...a product -American origin -Good quality -Trustworthy -Vintage -Functional -Trend Savvy -Poor value for product? Basic items

...an experience -Instagram interaction -#uoyou -Blog - lifestyle topics -Instore experience - American customer approach - say hi to everyone, -’Streets’ feel instore

page 22

Urban Outfitters have a

major focus on their store

interior. Urban Outfitters want their interior to be part of the store experience rather than use the money for marketing.

Although the commitment to the store aesthetic is a positive, when they’re not bringing in customers it’s counter productive and makes the brand lose money.

Target Audience -18-30 age group -original, indie & on trend -sophisticated & music savvy

JAEDANN ROZALIA, 20 YEARS OLD Studies Fine Art Is half french Loves indie music Vegetarian Freelance writer Loves vintage clothes Favourite possession is her record player Reads a lot into feminism

Pen Portraits page 26

Brand Health

Bad Publicity The brand has been caught in some scandals with offensive products classed as “culturally and socially insesitive.”The Eat Less tshirt is an example suggesting they promote anorexia. [37]By trying to stay on trend the brand haven’t been considering all the possible messages their products give off. In this example the tshirt suggests they were trying to stay with the cool kids and follow the popular dieting trends. However the tshirt also suggests that they’re promoting anorexia which doesn’t make them look very good. The brand also sold a tshirt with what looked like the Star of David on the pocket, which Jews were forced to wear on their chests in Nazi Europe. [38] Lastly, most recently UO have started a campaign “Class of 2017” which features a plus size model.[39] The controversy being that UO doesn’t actually sell plus sizes. Their XL is extremely smaller than the XL we’d normally expect. page 27

Urban Outfitters has a ‘Urban Renewal Collection’ which uses recycled fabrics, deadstock fabrics, vintage, organic cotton and other sustainable materials.

[40]

page 28

Urban Outfitters have been trying to redeem themselves for their bad publicity. In 2016 UO did a collaboration with Adidas, ‘We the Future’. In the promotion they promote and individuality. This campaign was the first step into the diversity trend. [41]

diversity

Strengths

SWOT

Weakness

-Strong brand recognition. Even people that don’t shop there recognise the brand name or product aesthetic -Existing customer base. Loyal customers that keep returning -Strong brand image. UO is recognisable by its’ indie aesthetic -Social Media-especially instagram -Established niche market

-More expensive than its competitors -Limited target audience - don’t expand -Controversial products -Price range out of reach of their target audience

Opportunities

Threats

-Reaching new audiences - be more extreme -Discount stores - out of season product - recycling -Reaching new markets eg. Asia - massive emerging market -Re-brand following any current major macro trends

-Competition having lower prices -Hipster aesthetic go out of style, lose customers -Controversial product - politically, socially

Key Issues/Challenges facing brand

-High prices. Compering to it’s competitors, UO seems to offer silimar product for a much higher price which the target audience can’t afford. In which case, UO isn’t their top choice for shopping.

-Controversial products which confuses the customers, loses their shopping loyalty but also make the brand unpredictable.

-Following their recent campaigns, UO should focus on re--branding their image from controversial to diverse.

This way the target audience can relate to the brand again and re-build their relationship with them.

page 30

Ansoff Matrix

-Work on 4P’s. Rather than enter new markets or develop new products work on the existing Product, Price, Place and Promotion of the company.

-More advertising. The brand doesn’t do much promotion for itself therefore loses out on a huge audience. This is also a key area as due to their controversial products there is bad publicity for them.

-Open up pop up stores. UO is very much about the experience, therefore a pop up store could give the customers a unique experience.

-Activeness on social media. UO is actually very active on Instagram however they lack in other social media platforms or the promotion of those platforms.

-Festivals. UO could use the opportunity of having a festival friendly style. They could do a pop up store on popular festivals or promote the fact that they sell festival items before big ones occur.

Existing Market

New Market

Penetration / Core Development

New product development

New market development

Diversification

Existing Products page 31

New Products

So what is the future of Urban Outfitters?

The key insight, after analysing the situation of the brand, is that they’re not joining things together. In order to have customer loyalty and finacial success, each aspect of the brand needs to work together.

In terms of the price, it’s become apparent that it is too high for the audience that it is targeting which is also putting people off from making the purchases.

An example would be their communicating channels. UO runs an interesting blog where they talk about a variety of subjects however not many people know about it as it’s not promoted anywhere. In this case it could just be putting a leaflet in people’s bags as they make purchases in the store. The brand needs to emloy more advertising in general whether its at events or on more traditional channels such at television.

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Illustrations

-Page 1 - Rekas , D, 2016. Untittled. Unpublished.

-Page 8 - Murray, Rheana, 2015. Madeline Stuart, model with Down syndrome, will walk at NYFW. Today.

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Apendix fig 1, Goody, Alice, 2016, Youth Fashion - UK - December 2016, Operating profit of selected players in the UK youth fashion market, 2015, Mintel, Available at:http://academic.mintel.com/homepages/default/, [Accessed 13 January 2017]

Primary Research Face-to-face questions. fig 2 Gender - male or female Age - 16-18, 19-21, 22-25, 26-30, 31+ Do you shop at Urban Outfitters? - Yes, No, I used to What do you think of the price? - 1-10 (cheap to expensive) Has the price ever put you off buying a product? Yes or No (+expand) Do you follow Urban Outfitters on any social media? - Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat Do you think the brand is up to date with current trends? - Scale 1-10 (1 no, 10 very) Are there any products you go to Urban Outfitters specifically to buy? - Homeware, Gifts, Jackets, Sportswear, Underwear, Brand (expand)

Face-to-face primary reasearch answers. fig 2, 3 examples

Online Questionnaire results fig 3 (Typeform), recorded 14/01/2017, 24 participants

Online Questionnaire fig 4 results (Typeform), 15/01/2017