Urban Outfitters, not so “cool” anymore

Urban Outfitters is a perfect example of popular multinational clothing corporation that has been successfully captured its main target markets; teens and young adults. Urban Outfitters develops the multi brand strategy. It is not only selling its own products,but it also merge other clothing companies that has the similar style and selling it in one store. There are wide variety of products, ranging from clothes, apartment accessories to  music accessories. Through this strategy, the Urban Outfitters has created a young and innovative  company that successfully captures the growing market demand of one-stop destination for lifestyle destination.

Despite of its success ,The Times article highlighted 13-mistakes that Urban Outfitters did during these past years and has catch the market attention. Some Urban Outfitters products has successfully offend different groups through logos on T-shirts/ sweaters, which includes Black, Jews and Native Americans and many more. In addition, Urban Outfitters also has stolen a woman’s necklace design from its the designer, and selling the identical piece online.

Through this cases, Urban Outfitters has been struggling to re-position its brand  in the mind of customer. Its difficult to regain the trust and loyalty back from the customer, after after the 13 consecutive mistakes that makes customer question the quality of authenticity and products that Urban Outfitters offer. These mistakes will change customer’s perspective to the brand’s image; if before Urban Outfitters is seen as a “hype and cool store that understand teenagers style”, now Urban outfitters will be seen as design stealer, not-creative, and “not-so-cool” store anymore.

When the main target market is on the age range of 18-28 years old,living in a generation where information can be access easily its important to carefully manage and protect a companies brand image. Hopefully, the creative team come up with more innovative,products that could help the marketing section to restore the Urban Outfitter reputation in the market..

Work Cited

“13 Urban Outfitters Controversies.” The Week. N.p., 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

Image source:http://theweek.com/article/index/220370/racist-navajo-attire-and-7-other-urban-outfitters-controversies