What The Hell Is Urban Outfitters?
Under normal circumstances, the news of a new shop opening in the centre of Newcastle elicits the sort of levels of enthusiasm that I usually reserve for paying parking fines. I’m in my mid-twenties, have about as much disposable income as a Greek busker, and, as of 2008, I’ve grown into all my clothes. But Urban Outfitters isn’t just any old shop. Apparently.
No, Urban Outfitters (or UO, if you’re the sort of person who feels abbreviations save you a useful amount of time in the day, time you’ll have since wasted reading this sentence) is much more than the trendy fashion emporiums that flank it, as it stocks all kinds of nick-nacks and thingymabobs to ease the burdens of modern living.
“Urban Outfitters is *the* inspiring habitat for trendsetters” Stefanie Marshall, the company’s PR manager, tells me; “our women’s, men’s, home and boutique sections lead and excite with a creative mix of the most up and coming designer labels, accessories, interiors, books and music”.
“The Urban customer is someone who appreciates the whole lifestyle of enjoying a variety of music, quirky décor and embraces the mix of vintage, designer and urban own brand clothing. They are open minded, keen to experiment and have a sense of humour.”
Well, hey, I’ve got a double award GCSE Science qualification that says I’m “keen to experiment”, and some psychological scars that will never heal which accounts for “open mindedness”, so maybe this could be for me after all. Salivating at the prospect of what might be to come, I intrepidly set off explore Newcastle’s latest hive of 21st century must-haves.
Maybe not *quite* on my wavelength then.
Thankfully, fashionable bodess Alice Barnes, from our old pals Trend Bible, waded in to help clear things up for me; “Urban Outfitters is basically just a fashion and lifestyle retailer for younger shoppers, who are totally clued up on the latest fashion trends and niche brands”. That’s a relief.
Whilst it’s easy to surmise a place like this based solely on how much I liked the stuff it was selling, a giant national brand opening its doors to the North-East is obviously a sign of some developments in various bigger pictures, not least of all an economic one. Alice rambled thusly.
“Even though consumers are feeling the pinch, recent spending figures have suggested that shoppers are still prepared to pay mega bucks for desirable products. The high street has seen a massive drop in profits since the recession hit, but some areas are slowly starting to recover. Where retailers are seeing growth is in the higher priced end of goods and services – consumers are prepared to pay more initially for a higher quality piece of apparel, as this will save them money in the long term.
Hopefully, this growth will start to filtrate through to high street stores quick sharp, as brands need to think of some new, innovative methods to entice shoppers back into this retail domain. I think a major retailer like UO opening in Newcastle does inspire some hope and restore some faith back in the North East retail scene.”
I did buy that book in the end. So despite my apparent bewilderment at my new surroundings, I did manage to find a few things that interested both my loins and my wallet. Ultimately though, Urban Outfitters is one big dazzling set of highlights in the fatally unfashionable eyes of this particular rabbit, but it’ll hopefully an encouraging sign for the local economy as a whole.
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In what may well be the strangest article we've ever run, @AdamClery attempts to decode Urban Outfitters. http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
In what may well be the strangest article we've ever run, @AdamClery attempts to decode Urban Outfitters. http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
I popped into Urban Outfitters before Christmas, after only visiting the store in Leeds (which had a massively amazing hip hop remix of the Ghostbusters theme) and I was so surprised by the store layout and, kind of, nonchalant appeal that I partially forgot that it was a shop at all. It was more like a funky clothes library/mausoleum.
They had the initial entrance area filled with plain Christmas trees that reinforced the message that there was a sale on. Which was much more effective than acetates stuck onto a window and forgotten about.
Urban Outfitters seem like one of the more inventive shops around, and that’s a good thing. It breaks up the boring and monotony that some stores can have.
In what may well be the strangest article we've ever run, @AdamClery attempts to decode Urban Outfitters. http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
In what may well be the strangest article we've ever run, @AdamClery attempts to decode Urban Outfitters. http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
RT @kyeotv: What The Hell Is Urban Outfitters? http://t.co/WXePkeuX
In what may well be the strangest article we've ever run, @AdamClery attempts to decode Urban Outfitters. http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
In what may well be the strangest article we've ever run, @AdamClery attempts to decode Urban Outfitters. http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
In what may well be the strangest article we've ever run, @AdamClery attempts to decode Urban Outfitters. http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
RT @kyeotv: What The Hell Is Urban Outfitters? http://t.co/HdCYWWmq @Adamclery you seem to be the ONLY shopper there?! Still funny.
Oh INDEED! RT @kyeotv: What The Hell Is Urban Outfitters? http://t.co/6ULys1Ap”
Oh INDEED! RT @kyeotv: What The Hell Is Urban Outfitters? http://t.co/6ULys1Ap”
In case you haven't seen it yet, here's what happened when we went exploring in Urban Outfitters http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
In case you haven't seen it yet, here's what happened when we went exploring in Urban Outfitters http://t.co/UTvXpwGW
http://fashionista.com/2012/01/urban-outfitters-ceo-glen-senk-quits-causes-stock-to-tank