Design Audit - Urban Outfitters

URBAN OUTFITTERS DESIGN AUDIT Daniel | Yinan | Kersti | Lizz | Pablo

INDEX CSR........................................1 BIRTH....................................2 URBAN OUTFITTERS.. 3-7 CONTROVERSY...........8-13 CASE AGAINST..........14-18 TRENDS.......................19-28 OUR CASE...................29-32 SOCIOSPHERE...........23-39 ECOSPHERE...............40-44 TECHNOSPHERE......45-51 ETHNOSPHERE.........52-57 SUMMARY...................58-59 THE END......................60

Corporate Social Responsibility A series of self prescribed practices and guidelines to ensure ďŹ rm conforms to ethical and political standards. With the aim to promote public image and generate long-term income.

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today�

Chinese Proverb

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THE BIRTH OF URBAN OUTFITTERS

The affluent generation that came of age in the 2008 economic recession developed a nuanced identity. They upcycled societal trends in richly diverse urban metropolises and defended them through irony and cynicism. This unprecedented trend was barely understood, rarely studied and hard to identify. Visionaries within Urban Outfitters were able to not only pick up on this trend but craft an entire business model selling an urban image to the masses. The result was the explosion of this culture. “What has already happened that has yet to make its full impact?”

“Our goal is to offer a product assortment and environment so compelling and distinctive that the customer feels an empathetic connection to the brand and is persuaded to buy.”

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ABOUT

Urban Outfitters is a multi-national clothing manufacturer and retailer based in Philadelphia, PA, USA. The company operates locations across the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. Additionally, Urban Outfitters manages five separate retail brands under the umbrella of Urban Outfitters Inc. including: Urban Outfitters, Anthropology, Free People, Terrain and BHLDN. The Urban Outfitters product line consists primarily of men’s and women’s apparel as well as footwear, accessories, hard and soft goods, housewares and lifestyle merchandise including books and music.

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MARKETING

The core demographic of Urban Outfitters includes single, young urban hipsters with a disposable income, in the 18-30-age range. Their customer base is defined as being creative, independent, and tech savvy; and as such, their product niche is marketed towards ‘counter cultural, bohemian, ironic, funny, kitschy, retro and vintage styles.’ Urban Outfitters maintains their own in-house brand, and has also collaborated with designers, and luxury brands.

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Urban Outfitters (URBN) Urban Outfitters

Anthropologie

Women’s specialty

Freepeople Casual Women’s

Casual Unisex

Employees

Distribution Proprietary Distribution Center

Admin

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Corporate

Executive

Customers

Retail

Marketing

Management Sales

Edward N. Antoian (1)(3) Managing Partner & Chief Investment Officer, Chartwell Investment Publicists Advertising Partners Andrea Cusick, Founder, Zeke Capital Senior Public Relations Manager Advisors Scott A. Belair Principal, The ZAC Group Harry S. Cherken, Jr. Partner, Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP Margaret A. Hayne President, Free People Chief Creative Officer, URBN Richard A. Hayne Chairman of the Board Elizabeth Ann Lambert Principal & Manager, Bunkhouse Group, LLC.

Vendors

BHLDN

Terrain

Wedding and Jewellery

Gardening

Economy

Society

Domestic International Some Domestic Vendors

Parents

14 -17 Other Shoppers 18 -24 College Crowd Teen Crowd Designers Urban Outfitters have pickers to buy wholesale from artists and designers. Even small etsy business owners

Small Businesses Competitors Other Corporations

Competing Coporations

Fabric

Manufacturers

Highlighted Suppliers

PUBLIC STORAGE, INC. Simon Property Group, L.P. BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC. POLO RALPH LAUREN Accenture plc VORNADO REALTY TRUST NIKE, Inc. V. F. CORPORATION COACH, INC. NCR CORPORATION

Competing Small Businesses

Government

Municipal

Provincial

International

RETAIL | SPACE

Urban Outfitters carries roughly 35,000 – 40,000 products at any given time, and operates in over 400 retail stores across the globe – with brick and mortar spaces averaging around 9,500 square feet per store. Additionally, they sell their full product range online through their website.

The Urban Outfitters Corporate Office ‘Campus’ is located in a 350,000+ square foot Naval Shipyard located at the harbor front of Philidelphia, PA. The company has won a number of awards for the redesign of the historical shipyard, and through their efforts, has contributed to the revitalization of the surrounding harbor area. Awards for this revitalization project include the National Preservation Honour Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation (2007), and the Global Preservation Award for Excellence from the Urban Land Institute. Since opening the amalgamated Shipyard Campus, Urban Outfitters has statistically seen their employee morale and wellness increase, with an overall decrease in sick time taking place. Urban Outfitters has also seen a decrease in employee turnover by 11%.

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SHIFT IN UO BUSINESS STRATEGY

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This past year, the company announced the acquisition of local Philadelphia-based Pizza restaurant –Pizzaria Vetri. It has been speculated that this acquisition is in response to a massive decline in foot traffic and sales, as well as plummeting stock prices. The recent acquisition signifies a shift in their business strategy, as Urban Outfitters tests out new formats for engaging their customers. Additionally Urban Outfitters is currently working on integrating more digital engagement into their in-store experience, through the launch of their social-based app ‘UO’ This app is designed as a social-network style rewards program. When customers download the app, they are able to create their own personalized page and earn rewards each time they engage with the brand through incentives such as mentioning the company on Twitter or Instagram. While this app is intended to drive sales and encourage brand loyalty, Urban Outfitters runs the risk of alienating their customers through aggressive marketing tactics, in an already saturated brand loyalty-based app market.

CONTROVERSY

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The name Urban Outfitters has become synonymous with the use of offensive and controversial imagery, as well as unethical business practices. It’s not uncommon to see Urban Outfitters in the news every couple months as a result of unethical choices, and a simple Google search of their name turns up hundreds of articles as a result. Some examples of the offending products include racist, homophobic, ableist, insensitive, and trivializing messages along with imagery printed on clothing and accessories. Urban Outfitters have also become synonymous with copyright infringement; caught numerous times stealing the work of artists and small businesses including merchandising copyrighted goods as their own. Most recently, Urban Outfitters was sued by the Navajo Nation for copyright infringement and misuse of the word Navajo, as well as associated imagery.

According to a company representative, "We do not buy items to provoke controversy or to intentionally offend.” However, these issues have been unfailingly recurrent, leading customers to boycott the business, as they alienate the very audience that they aim to market their goods towards.

Additionally, Urban Outfitters made the news in 2009 for poor labour practices –“ On November 27, 2009, the firm drew the attention of the Swedish press for denying collective bargaining rights to employees at their Stockholm store by making all 38 workers redundant and re-hiring them through employment agency Academic Work. In response to the move, ombudsman Jimmy Ekman called for tougher laws to prevent other firms denying collective bargaining rights in this way.”

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Why Urban OutďŹ tters?

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Why Urban OutďŹ tters?

What if retail space was more than that?

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Value proposition

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We chose to work with Urban Outfitters because we believe the company is positioned to benefit from a fundamental transformation and re-symbolization of their brand. Looking at the controversial history and negative attention that Urban Outfitters has received in the press, we believe that Urban Outfitters is situated to reclaim their identity, while creating and generating new forms of value for their customers; and ultimately themselves. By co-opting their ability to put-out powerful messages into the world, we would like to transform the company, and to create a richly imagined future for the brand.

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THE CASE AGAINST URBAN OUTFITTERS

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SOCIOSPHERE

ECOSPHERE

UO pressured to discontinue on-call Scheduling by NY Attorney General

Disposable Fashion on the rise

Urban Outfitters Among Fashion Brands Using L.A. “Sweatshop” Labor Urban Outfitters Tapestry Reminds Group Of 'Holocaust Garb' Urban Outfitters Bengali Factory Rips Off Etsy artist Safety Standards

The rise of disposable fashion

Most suppliers are overseas

UO Inflation of Stocks

Stealing Designs off Instagram and Tumblr

Misuse of Social Media

Urban Outfitters and United Farm Workers of America Cultural backlash from Navajo Nation Urban Outfitters Ganesh Socks Upset Hindu Community Urban Outfitters and Racial/Gender Equality

TECHNOSPHERE

ETHNOSPHERE Another Urban Outfitters Fiasco

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CASES

ECO

CULTURAL HUMAN RESOURCES

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ETHICAL MANUFACTURING

ETHICAL MANUFACTURING

Bengali Factory Safety Standards

Urban Outfitters has short seasons meaning styles and new brands come in short frequencies. They’ve been posting margins below 40% over the past 10 years, below top retailers like H&M thus forcing factories to work overtime to produce more at lower costs forcing safety cuts.

Incidentally to increase safety standards the cost would equate to about an additonal 10 cents per garment.

Urban Outfitters Among Fashion Brands Using L.A. “Sweatshop” Labor

Urban Outfitters is part of the 10 contractors that are engaging in ‘sweatshop practices’ by paying their employees lower than minimum wage: $7.25/h and no overtime pay.

Some of the employees were also paid by ‘piece rate’ instead of by the hour. Investigators found nearly $326,200 in owed wages for 185 employees.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Urban Outfitters and Racial/Gender Equality

Vowing from pressure from board members, Urban Outfitters included the first woman on it’s all-white/male board of directors since opening 43 years ago. Many people remain critical hinting at nepotism since the new board member is the wife of the CEO and Chairman.

UO discontinues On-call scheduling responding to pressure from NY Attorney General

New York Attorney General conducted an inquiry into major clothing retailers, including Urban Outfitters, and questioned the legality of “on-call” scheduling.

Responding from pressure UO vowed to discontinue the practice at a national level.

ECO

Most suppliers are overseas

Urban Outfitters summarizes its vendor information by stating that most vendors are overseas. Such that, changes in import and tariffs could potentially have an averse affect on their business. in 2009 - 7,700 vendors were used, each accounting for no more than 10% of merchandise purchased.

The rise of disposable fashion

From 2008 to 2013 the weight of textile waste jumped from 5% to 30% in London alluding to the rise of disposable fashion. This trend mirrors the rise of large-scale clothing retailers that are 20 times larger than average like H&M, Zara and Urban Outfitters.

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CULTURAL

Cultural backlash from Navajo Nation

Navajo people outraged over appropriation of their name, artwork and patterns by the clothing retailer Urban Outfitters. Blogger Sasha Houston Brown from the Sioux Nation sent an open letter to CEO Glen T. Senk, outlining the issues around cultural appropriation. The Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit against UO alleging breach of trademark and violations of the federal Indian Arts and Crafts Act.

Another Urban Outfitters Fiasco

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There has been a lot of cultural appropriation at Urban Outfitters lately such as Native or Indigenous, and appropriation of religion, such as Judaism and Hinduism. In 2014 they invited employees to wear turbans, saris, and harem pants to a holiday party, targeting a hegemonic understanding of South Asian culture.

Urban Outfitters and United Farm Workers of America On August 2003 Urban Outfitters released a shirt with a graphic that bared close resemblance to the logo of the United Farm Workers of America. After UFOA was notified via twitter they send a Cease-and-desist letter to the retailer. Urban Outfitters replied by saying they were pulling the shirt off of the shelves.

Urban Outfitters Tapestry Reminds Group Of 'Holocaust Garb'

According to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps were given coloured triangle uniforms in order to be identified as a specific category. Urban Outfitters version of this uniform was being sold in a New York boutique for US$69.“…this gray and white striped pattern and pink triangle combination is deeply offensive…” said ADL director Abraham Foxman. After weeks of controversy, Urban Outfitters apologized and removed the shirt from the store and website.

Response from the Kent State University because the Blood Pullover

The company added that the bright red stains and holes, which certainly seemed to suggest blood, were simply “discoloration from the original shade of the shirt and the holes are from natural wear and fray.” The statement added: “We deeply regret that this item was perceived negatively.”

TRENDS

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CorporAdvocacy

Companies step up to tackle human rights issues domestically and globally.

Corporations are quickly adding advocacy to their list of functions. They are quickly being driven by political and social forces to be on the frontlines of creating social change in the world.

As exempliďŹ ed by 2014 National Action plan in the US, to formulate a plan to make Corporate Social Responsibility a mandated part of their responsibilities.

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SOCIAL DATA SOLUTIONS

Rich data and communication technology enables companies to solve social and environmental problems at scale.

Rich data and communication technology enables companies to solve social and environmental problems at scale. With a growing web of interconnectedness, there is a chance now more than ever to create answers for some of the world’s biggest problems.

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CSR MUST

Corporate responsibility becomes an absolute mandate.

Not only are corporations being driven by the drive to generate PR and improve image, but quickly Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming a legally required aspect of every corporation. As an example Brazil and India have specific levels and requirements for Social Responsibility, where India already has in place a ‘2%’ Corporate Social Responsibility requirement.

The day may come when having a responsible corporation is no longer just a nicety for good image.

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CSR’S NEW LANGUAGE

The language around CSR is changing–for good reason.

Corporate Social Responsibility has long been associated with ‘ethics washing’ and a been covered with a general layer of in-authenticity.

Delegated as a phrase for generating a thinly veiled corporate image. However, as awareness grows so does the importance of Corporate Responsibility it’s no longer enough to use empty words and shallow guidelines to simply have a CSR face. Corporate Social Responsibility as phrase onto itself is gaining more weight and must be backed by not only intention but action.

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NO TIME FOR 9-5

Employee Experience Design - Expanding Entrepreneurship

Additionally, we are about to experience a radical decentralization of the 9-5 work experience. In the future, employees will shift towards a more open-ended career path, beyond what we currently know as the urban freelance working class. By treating their careers as a series of educational tours, people are able to take the time to develop new skills and critical thinking processes, as they design and re-deďŹ ne their future and aspirations. What kinds of jobs will be desireable to, and in-line with these shifting values and skill sets? How will businesses meet the demands of this new expanded working economy?

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PERSPECTIVE SHIFTS

Products and services are being re-positioned and re-marketed to allow customers to see a different side of it’s value.

Products and services are becoming multi-faceted and companies are taking advantage of changing what a commodity could mean to a consumer. Making customers re-evaluate what a product can do or mean for them can shift the market dramatically and allow them to value it for different things. Signals include donation sites becoming crowdfunding platforms and payment for single artists becoming exclusive platforms.

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CURRENCIES OF CHANGE

Why Customers WIll Expect Good Behaviour to Be more than just its Own Reward

In 2015, brands who really have a HUMAN side must realize that a million-and-one fauxHUMAN social media voices and brand-vanity 'experiences' will never be enough: it's time for real action. 66% of consumers feel that their relationships with brands are 'one sided', with them as the sole contributors and brands as the sole beneďŹ ciaries (Edelman, October 2014).

One way that smart brands will take action when it comes to customers' quest for personal enhancement in 2015? By taking the (ever-more widely adopted) smartphones and wearable devices*, and deploying them to oer more personal, innovative, fun, timely, targeted and ultimately relevant rewards in order to help people achieve their goals.

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OVER IT

The End of the Hipster Culture and the Companies that Drove it to Mainstream

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Hipster culture along with the brands that drove it to become mainstream are on a rapid decline.

What was once a term embraced by young people as members of a counterculture is now an identity no one wants to be associated with.

Hipster culture was born from a generation that came of age in the middle of a financial downturn in 2008. Ripped jeans and random t-shirts were worn because it was what they could afford at the time. Defending the fashion choices through irony was exactly that, a defence mechanism. As companies like Urban Outfitters and American Apparel begun to pick up on this trend and essentially make their entire business model based around selling this image, more and more people began dressing, and willingly or not, embracing the identity and lifestyle.

These stores made hard to describe bohemian lifestyle available to everyone rendering a once fresh, fringe-culture mainstream The generation that they targeted has also grown in a particular way. They are no longer interested in kitsch or difference for the difference sake. Instead of just seeking alternative art, music and style, they now look for authenticity at its core.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BIG BOX

“All advanced economies are radically hybrid” - Charles Jencks

Traditional big-box clothing retail business models are currently suffering as a result of a massive disruption in the market and demand. In order to survive the mass exodus of customers flocking towards online e-commerce spaces as Amazon and Alibaba, retail stores must undergo a significant structural change. Now, more than ever, retailers need to focus on interactions instead of transactions, to get ahead of the curve. “From a rational perspective, people expect convenience & dialogue; from an emotional perspective, they seek community & engagement.” Retail experiences need to undergo a radical change in order to become more personalized, collaborative, socially influenced and socially influencing, while empowering and engaging their customers at a more emotional and authentic level.

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OUR CASE It already happened and made its full impact….

Identifying the next unidentifiable.

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INTRO

Corporate social responsibility is not only the best practice for ethically run companies, it is a competitive advantage, setting a new generation of entrepreneurs and businesses apart. Urban OutďŹ tters is a company that was founded in crafting and marketing a hard to deďŹ ne identity [counter-culture] marking them ahead of the trend. In order to remain relevant UO must touch base once again with that trailblazing identity and rebrand themselves to the core reecting the values of authenticity and transparency that growing demographic demands.

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THE TIMING IS RIGHT Never before has communicating with consumers been so eďŹƒcient and inexpensive.

Social media streamlines communication as long as it is used correctly. A mass rebranding and remarketing beneďŹ ts from potential consumers inviting companies into every moment of their lives through their phones.

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SOCIOSPHERE

ECOSPHERE Emphasis on quality

Local Manufacturers

UO Honest social media presence

Partnership with culture-makers

manufactoring techniques Stock Transparency

Board diversity and transparency

cultural events

TECHNOSPHERE

ETHNOSPHERE

campaigns vio social media

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WHY THE CURRENT APPROACH HAS FAILED With many of the campaigns that they have been bringing to the market, UO has overseen many human rights and has promoted certain social derogatory character and promoting “dodgy” social values. They have also been using a strong sarcasms and irony in the use of their visual communication. It is a fact how strong influences fashion brand promote over a young branch of the society, specially over those who are still looking for a social identity and an “urban” tribe or community in which they can fit.

Crime and social local conflicts have also been negatively encouraged. The company faced controversy over t-shirt design resembling Chicago gang´s sign “Gangster Disciples”. That was just right after that their version of the Monopoly game “Ghettopoly” appeared in their shelves.

The appropriation of street culture symbols was not certainly being used to promote understanding or to solve the real problematic of the neighbourhoods.

With those actions they were ignoring the real situation of uneasiness that was being promoted and using the tense situation to “laugh out loud” the reality.

A critical example that clearly reveals that sexist values have been overseen, happened when a sweater found in the men's section was using the slogan “It's not rape, it’s a snuggle with a struggle”. The company said that they didn't even know that the sweater had been made in the first place or how it had been in their delivery package, what reveals the lack of control over the third party decission that they work with and the unawareness of their decisions.

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URBANIZATION REVERSE BRAIN DRAIN AN AGING POPULATION HALAL ECONOMY A HETEROGENEOUS SOCIETY ABOLOTION OF SINGLE CHILD IN CHINA GENERATIONAL POLITICAL CHANG IN EMERGENT NATIONS LIKE INDIA | BRAZIL WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT WILL USHER IN SOME DEEP SOCIOECONOMIC CHANGES IN OUR FUTURE SOCIETY

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SOCIAL TREND CHANGING

CREATIVE HUB Malls and Shops are for young people, places of encounter where they gathere and exchange ideas. Urban Outfitters could offer a space of intellectual and creative exchange. It is a fact that they are offering a wide range of books in their shelves and they could be of high social and educational value.

“KNOW HOW” WORKSHOPS National and Global events could be held by local activists, artists, thinkers and makers who could inspire others to become more responsible consumers.

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GRAFFITI BOARDS By 2020, there will be over 5 billion people with Internet access. The installation of Free Expression Boards or (Graffiti Boards) around their branches from all over the world could establish a common awareness about their issues that costumers are worried about or like, and want to express. It would also be a way to connect people from everywhere through Urban Outfitters.

FUTURE CONSUMER MILIEUS Some trends analysis reveals that the Hipster profile is slowly losing his charm and many people don´t want to identify themselves with this concept anymore. In this case they could start to center their campaigns for some of the consumer Milieus that are going to develope in the next decades. These could be: Premium Profesionals, who are centered in tools to manage their lives. Creative and adventurous Happy Bohemes, who prefer “we” than “I” and look for network and affinity groups.

Autenticy-loving Cultural Explorers who are proactive, seeking out ethical “better world” initiatives. At last, but not least mindful Wellbeing Hunters, who prefer “me” time in their individual quest for meaning; they embrace transparency and intelligent reduction.

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WHY THE CURRENT APPROACH HAS FAILED Urban Outfitters is a fast fashion brand. Fast fashion meaning it sells cheap clothes at a cheap cost. It's a phrase cited by many fashion commenters and is meant to include big retail fashion outlets such as Urban Outfitters. The clothes produced are not meant to last and like it’s nickname ‘fast-fashion’ suggests its fast, cheap and temporary. However, the properties of textiles are more geared towards owning them over a long period of time, much like a car or piece of furniture. Textiles in fact are one of the least recyclable materials out there, as stated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

However as these clothes are made so cheaply, they quickly wear out and become not only outdated but worn out and soon find their way to the landfill.

The even harsher truth is that as Urban Outfitters continues to force costs down, produce more in quantity to fulfill margins and compete with other retailers such as H&M, they accelerate the build-up of textile waste. In-fact from 1999-2009 the amount of clothing waste produced per year increased by 40%, at an already staggering statistic of 85% of textiles being wasted and 21 million pounds of textile waste per year. To meet this demand, Urban Outfitters pressures it's manufacturers to produce more efficiently, meaning cost cuts to safety, health and treatment standards for workers abroad. In fact in 2013 a Bengali factory collapsed due to poor safety standards killing 1,100 people. The ironic side is that by having most suppliers overseas, not only do they alienate their foreign labourers with poor standards but also they take away business from local textile manufacturers and producers. As well, the waste produced is also turning away from an emerging trend of sustainable fashion.

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TRANSFORMATIVE ACTION There is currently an emerging trend towards local production and a return to the values of craft. Urban OutďŹ tters prides itself as a provider of trendy, urban apparel. Why not provide an urban look and feel by taking it from its source ?

Take local designers and clothes makers and feature them in-store. Create iconic looks that are local to the urban spaces where these outlets are located. This does not only provide authenticity and a sense of ownership to clothing but also makes textiles locally sourced.

It avoids risks of import and tari changes, as well as relief to the foreign manufacturers.

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WHY THE CURRENT APPROACH HAS FAILED Integrating apps and mobile technology into the retail experience is no longer the standard, but the bare minimum. Urban Outfitters needs to think wildly beyond a simple ‘Social Media Strategy’ in order to reclaim their relevance if they want to survive. Today’s consumers are young, tech savvy individuals who have grown up in the age of social media and the Internet.

Now more than ever, customers are educated and think critically about the products, and brand experiences they buy into. Through the proliferation of online review culture, social platforms, and the rapid share-ability of information, consumers have become the new media channel for sharing information.

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If a product or brand isn’t functioning online with the ethics and values of their customers, the brand is at the mercy of online critics. Today’s customers are fighting back, by bringing awareness to unethical brand-behaviour through online campaigns, using platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Through information-sharing, the use of satire, and hashtags such as #urbanoutfittersbelike, customers are able to protest to a global audience, and discredit the companies they deem to be socially irresponsible.

CONNECTIVITY By 2020, there will be over 5 billion people with Internet access. At the same time, the use of Social Networking platforms is continuing to modify the ways in which people communicate, and even the way we trade commodities. Instant Messaging, Online Dating and the use of Digital assistants like Siri, are already a fact; but new sub-trends will be appearing such as social sentiment-analysis, open innovation, new business models, and micro-personalized marketing. If brick and mortar retail spaces are to remain, they need to undergo a radical transformation in order to draw people out of online spaces to engage them in the physical world. Possibilities for engaging consumers in the technosphere through built environment include: 49

TRANSMEDIA Transmedia is a new form of gamification that uses narrative storytelling to spark cross-platform engagement. By hosting exclusive, site-specific in-store and satellite activities, happenings and events; Urban Outfitters can create experiences that have a ripple effect, allowing people to piece together and participate in a larger narrative through in-person and cross-platform engagement.

RESPONSIVE ARCHITECUTRE AND ENVIRONMENTS Interactive in-store environments that use sensors and intelligent, responsive technologies to create a range of interactive scenarios, increasingly blurring the lines between networked experiences and the physical environment. Some examples include engaging the customer through responsive context-aware environments, that are able to recognize human emotion. Responsive environments could also be used to promote worker safety, health and well being.

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AUGMENTED REALITY Combines the real environment with the virtual.

Soon we will see a market saturation of cheap and readily available devices such as the Oculus Rift, this will allow us to create realistic emotionally engaging and empathetic experiences for the customer.

SMART TEXTILE Electronically embedded and networked textiles, which incorporate digital components such as microcontrollers, sensors and actuators - seamlessly integrated into textile materials. If UO were to become an ambassador of smart textiles embedded in their clothing, they could pioneer new social experiences and situations for their customers, and integrate this into in-store experiences. Smart textiles oer endless possibilities for UO at the intersection of textiles, manufacturing, electrical engineering, information and social science.

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WHY THE CURRENT APPROACH HAS FAILED Disregard for BIPOC in the Information Age: Urban Outfitters disregarded communities galvanizing to protect their identities and livelihoods. A new generation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) are finding their own particular voice and demands in the struggle for racial justice. This generation, building on their predecessors, is armed with information-age tools. What was once disregarded as anecdotal discrimination, stories are now overflowing amounts of data. What used to be disregarded as false accusations is now camera-phone shot evidence. It is in this climate that Urban outfitters made poor choices against (BIPOC) appropriating symbols and imagery at a time when verifying authorship is only a click away. This new wave of racial equality, not unlike the Civil Rights Movement, demands representation of their identity in culture. But it isn’t just about being represented in the mainstream, it’s being represented accurately and authentically.

Not just fringe communities: BIPOC communities are no longer fringe demographics. In growing urban centres like Toronto, close to 50% of the population identifies as being part of a “visual minority”. These numbers are growing cross nationally. But if alienating 50% of a potential market wasn’t enough, white identified consumers are also not wanting to engage in buying “appropriated goods” whether because of backlash from their immediate community or simply because they also crave authenticity. Ethical reasons aside, intellectual appropriation is not good for business.

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MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT OF CULTURE MAKERS “Has the artist been paid?”

There is no problem with selling designs that belong to cultural groups… as long as the work comes from a designer/artist that belongs to that community and they are fairly compensated and represented.

Thanks to on-demand production and online sales, designers of color are growing by the numbers. They speak directly to their community and about their community. By engaging these designers Urban Outfitters stands to gain the base that that designer has established not only in stores but online.

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GLOBALIZATION UO currently operates as a sort of new age department store for young people and often includes local designers along large brands like Nike and Vans. By doing seasonal features of local designers of color in their stores they can increase the foot traffic that the store is currently lacking.

DIVERSIFY DESING STRATEGISTS Companies like Buzzfeed speak to the necessity of a diverse staff. The company has grown exponentially since 2006. As a company constantly seeking to feature trending material they have learned to feature their diverse New York staff in videos speaking about racial, social, gender and sexual equality in fun innovative ways. By diversifying their company Urban Outfitters would remain up to date on the latest of rapidly changing, and vastly influential topics.

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SUMMARY THE VISIONARIES Urban OutďŹ tters was a pioneer at identifying and carrying a trend to its full potential. They changed the global social sphere by crafting an emerging identity down to the very last detail.

They replicated the space where this identity came from in their shops and drew shoppers to experience it as it if was their living room. Now that the trend has become mainstream it must regain those visionary skills, reimagine themselves and once again make its mark on the retail industry from a place of ethics and sustainability.

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THE HUB Urban Outfitters in its drive to become a leading retailer invested in the development of an identity crafted inside a retail space that defied all others. It was a space that didn’t resemble its customers homes but what their customers wanted their homes to feel like. It encouraged people to hang out and play, read, listen to music in addition trying clothes on and buying.

As Urban Outfitters moves forward it can capitalize on this ideological and physical real estate, this relationship, through turning this shop into a cultural hub. A space where artists and designers are celebrated and promoted.

Where their consumers can see themselves fairly and accurately represented. A concert hall and fashion runway. A design house and workshop space. An art studio, a lightbox and experimental cinema. An ever-shifting space molded by its local residents that connects virtually at a global scale. A culture hub.

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THE END