What was once a Mecca for teen and young adult women and men to find quirky and work-appropriate clothing is now tumbling down. Urban Outfitters’ styles used to be quite the clothing of choice, especially for young adults. Now, according to CBS News, Urban still hasn’t found its niche in the fashion world.
One of the main reasons this has happened is that other companies have found their grooves between affordability, trends, and clothing replenishment. Forever 21, popular clothing store for teens, is one place that keeps their garment selection affordable, fresh, and always up-to-date in the fashion world. Teens and young adult women entering the work world for the first time can poke around and almost always find something that they like, or something that is trending.
Urban Outfitters has most certainly had the reputation for having stylish and super progressive clothing options, however pricey. It’s always an investment to shop at Urban, with their cute skinny jeans starting around $55. Though the quality is quite solid and clothing from Urban Outfitters tends to outlast clothing bought from Forever 21, young professionals aren’t really considering longevity as much as affordability or a cause. It’s much easier to justify purchasing fifteen items for $100 at Forever 21 than one item for $100 from Urban Outfitters. Even purchasing slightly more expensive items that are recycled, or that give back in some way offer more incentive than something for the same price that doesn’t give back in any capacity.
Another reason why Urban Outfitters sort of fell off the fashion grid is because while it can be stylish, the clothing styles can become outdated pretty rapidly. Styles and trends are always changing in the fashion realm and places like Forever 21 and H & M are two places that really cater to these changing trends. They refresh the clothing in their stores often enough, and keep their prices low enough to keep customers coming back for more. Typically young adults feel like they aren’t losing much if they buy from Forever 21 or H & M because of the low price. If the style changes quickly, they won’t have lost too much money.
One of the suggestions to Urban Outfitters to better their business is to stop trying to cater to the younger crowd and perhaps turn their attention toward the mid twenty-somethings and older. The reason being, the older crowds tend to have much more disposable income and can afford to lose more than those younger Millennials barely old enough to drink can. Younger workers typically have a lower income that limits them from being able to buy whatever they want, whenever they want.
Urban Outfitters will likely have to cut prices to get rid of excess clothing that has had a hard time selling. Since sales have decreased over the past five quarters for them, it would be a wise decision for Urban to consider changing a few factors about their approach to selling clothing. If it’s too difficult to lower prices too much, they should definitely consider aiming at a different demographic and see if sales increase at all. Until they do, it’s likely their sales will not be on the up and up, and the Forever 21s of the merchandizing world will continue to dominate the retail clothing scene.
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