Urban Outfitters

The company was founded as the retail store Free People by Richard Hayne, Judy Wicks and Scott Belair in 1970 as a project for an entrepreneurship class at University of Pennsylvania. It was renamed to Urban Outfitters and incorporated in 1976. Outfitters carries multiple stores within its portfolio of brands, which also includes Urban Outfitters itself, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, BHLDN and the Vetri Family restaurant group. Much of the merchandise is designed and produced by the company's wholesale division on these multiple private labels.

It is associated with United States. The record gives 1970 as its date of establishment or first appearance. Its recorded founders are Richard Hayne. Its recorded seat is Philadelphia. The recorded field of activity is retail. Recorded products are clothing.

• Name — Urban Outfitters, Inc. New York • Type — Public • Traded As — * URBN • S&P 600 component • Industry — Retail • Founded —, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. (as Free People) • Founders — * Richard Hayne • Judy Wicks • Scott Belair • Hq Location City — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Hq Location Country — U.S. • Num Locations — 700 (2023) • Area Served — * United States • India • Belgium • Canada • Denmark • France • Germany • Ireland • Italy • Netherlands • Pakistan • Sweden • United Kingdom • Spain • Italy • Austria • Poland • United Arab Emirates • Qatar • Key People — Richard Hayne (CEO) • Products — * Clothing • accessories • cosmetics • footwear • housewares • music • Revenue — US$3.9 billion (2019) • Operating Income — US$231 million (2019) • Net Income — US$168 million (2019) • Assets — US$3.3 billion (2019) • Equity — US$1.4 billion (2019) • Owner — Richard Hayne (19.9%) • Num Employees — 24,000 • Num Employees Year — 2019 • Subsidiaries — * Anthropologie • Free People • Terrain • BHLDN • The Vetri Family

In the 1970s, Scott Belair & Dick Hayne opened a store and called it Free People in West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the store eventually grew from one to two storefronts, the name was changed from Free People to Urban Outfitters. • Illustration — Urban Outfitters store in Halifax, Nova Scotia In 2007, the company received the National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for the Urban Outfitters Corporate Office Campus located on the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. In 2011, it agreed to sell limited editions of Polaroid ONE600 instant cameras and Type 779 instant film in partnership with the Austrian entrepreneur Florian Kaps, who acquired the rights to manufacture 700 copies of the defunct product. In January 2013, it hired the Abraham & Roetzel lobbying firm, led by former Republican Sen. Spencer Abraham, to advocate on its behalf in Washington, D.C., regarding retail industry policy. In Q4 2015, the company announced plans to acquire the Vetri Family, a Philadelphia restaurant group. As the company was facing declining same store sales and foot traffic, the acquisition illustrated the retailer's shift in strategy. This includes restaurants Amis Trattoria, Bar Amis, and Pizzeria Vetri. There are two Pizzeria Vetri locations in Philadelphia, with other locations in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Devon, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. In 2019, the company drew attention by announcing the sale of used VHS tapes for $40. In the same year, Urban Outfitters launched Nuuly, a subscription clothing rental service. Following that, the company launched Nuuly Thrift, a resale platform for buying and selling women's, men's and kids’ apparel and accessories from URBN labels and other brands. As of 2020, Urban Outfitters does not publicly disclose which factories produce the brand's clothing. It also has no human resources department. In December 2022, Urban Outfitters announced the departure of its president, Francis Pierrel, from the company.