Retail buying final

URBAN OUTFITTERS

6 MONTH BUYING PLAN

6 MONTH BUYING PLAN Caress Genelle, Elise Johnson, and David Gale

Company Research

BRIEF OVERVIEWUrban Outfitters, established in 1970 in Philladelphia,strives to establish an emotional bond with their target consumer through selling a complete range of lifestyle and culture through products.

PRODUCT OFFERINGUrban Outfitters targets young adults aged 18 to 28 who are culturally sophisticated, and self-expressive through its unique merchandise mix and compelling store environment.

The product offering includes women’s and men’s fashion apparel, foot-wear and accessories, as well as an eclectic mix of apartment wares and gifts. Apartment wares range from rugs, pillows and shower curtains to books, candles and novelties.

STORESStores average approximately 9,000 square feet of selling space, and typ-ically carry an estimated 55,000 to 60,000 stock keeping units (“SKUs”) and are located in large metropolitan areas, select university communities, specialty centers and enclosed malls. As of January 31, 2012, URBN Inc. operated 197 Urban Outfitters stores in North Ameri-ca and Europe, as well as four websites and the Urban Outfitters catalog. URBN plans to open approximately 23 Urban Outfitters stores, global-ly, in fiscal 2013. Urban Outfitters’ North American and European store sales accounted for approximately 31.4% and 5.9% of consolidated net sales, respectively, for fiscal 2012.

VISUAL MERCHANDISINGAgain, Urban Outfitters is a lifestyle-driven retail space. When creating an environment for the target consumer, every visual concept is born from the idea of interpreting the target’s culture and lifestyle. Often, the product is displayed amongst eclectic architectural fixtures or the win-dows are covered in artwork or confetti. The main concern, again, is that the retail space not only visually but even physically resembles the culture of the target consumer.

PROMOTIONS & ADVERTISING

Urban Outfitters has an extensive online presence. Not only does the company have a successful website and blog, but it also has Flickr, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram,Vimeo, You-tube, and Spotify.

Urban Outfitters business appeals to that of a certain lifestyle. In carrying out this lifestyle-driven approach, the company has created promotional tools to emphasize what would appeal to that target.

These promotional tools include a blog filled with material including con-tests, interviews, videos, and free music downloads, and a catalog- advertising the producst in a balanced and well-designed format.

DEPARTMENT OVERVIEW

Urban Outfitters is an innovative specialty retail company, which offers a variety of lifestyle merchandise to highly defined customer niches, which explains why the women’s outerwear and jacket department is known for maintaining a fashion forward and trend savvy inventory. From tailored jackets to over-sized blazer peacoats, this department is always trend-relevant and up-to-date.

Current Trends

Curr

ent T

rend

s Silhouettes:

BlazersDenimMotorcycleMilitaryBomber

Curr

ent T

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Color: Tangerine &

Oxblood

Curr

ent T

rend

s Pattern: Cam

o

Competitor Research and Analysis

We chose Pacsun, Gap, and American Eagle as our top 3 competitors for Urban Outfitters. Overall the market and price range is similar, however the main differences lie within the target consumers and the product details. The Perceptual Map explains this concept in more detail.

$$ $$$

Edgy

Conservative

A E

UO

GAP

PACSUN

EDGY VS CONSERVATIVEUrban is highest when it comes to being trend savvy because most of the product sold is based off of trend-setting and street culture. Pacsun is second to Urban; they are trendy, but not as innovative in style. While Urban’s product is based off of trends and street style, Pacsun’s product is based off of trends and sport style and active wear. American Eagle is third in line because of its not as bold style and monotonous silhouettes. Lastly Gap’s overall aesthetic is sophisticated and classic, not as trendy or edgy in style.

$$ Vs $$$Pacsun is highest when it comes to retail price because of the company’s active wear market. The Snow boarding coats are significantly higher In price. Urban is second to Pacsun in retail price because of fashion forward statement items as well as the heavier material used to make these pieces. Gap is third in line when it comes to price because the company’s target market is sophisticated meaning the customer is more willing to pay a higher price because of higher income. AE’s target market is significantly younger; also the company has significantly less style which doesn’t leave any room for varied prices.

Gap The Gap customer ranges in age and is professional and organized. The Gap lives within an average to large size city.

This customer is inspired by minimal-ism and their style is classic, iconic, and sophisticated. On average the customer will spend $80-$120.

Pacsun The Pacsun customer is 16 to 30 years old. This customer lives near the coast, loves being active and athletic, and is inspired by the nature, street style, and sports. This cus-tomer’s style is casual, relaxed, and possibly a bit earthy or environmentally consious. On average will spend anywhere from $40-$80 in one shopping trip. This customer will only spend big bucks on necessity or activewear for sports.

AE The AE customer is 15 to 20 years old and lives in a rural area.This customer loves socializing, thrifting, and living in the moment. AE’s customer style is laid-back andcasual while still being a tad bit trendy and preppy. The customer can be seen wearing a lot of denim, t-shirts, and pull-overs. On average the customer will spend $30-$60.

Trend Forescasting Fall 2013

Tren

d Fo

resc

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BlazerMotorcyclePeacoat Sport Luxe

Silhouettes

Tren

d Fo

resc

astin

g Color: Em

erald

Tren

d Fo

resc

astin

g Pattern: Stripes

6 Month Buying Plan

DEPT. NAME DEPT. # Women's Outerwear

BUYER

3rd Qt Sales 109,597.00$ 4th Qt Sales 91,493.00$ LY% mth for each qrtr 20% 30% 50% 20% 45% 35%LY% mth for 6 mo 20% 15% 15% 20% 25% 5% 100%

FALL FALL Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan SEASON TOTAL

SALES $ Last Year 12,234.2$ 7,340.5$ 7,340.5$ 8,319.2$ 9,787.3$ 3,914.9$ 48,936.73$ Plan 12,845.89$ 7,707.53$ 7,707.53$ 8,735.21$ 10,276.71$ 4,110.69$ $51,383.57% Inc/Dec 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 5%% by Month 25.0% 15.0% 15.0% 17.0% 20.0% 8.0% 100.0%RevisedActual

STOCK/SALES Last Year 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.0 1.6 1.9RATIO Plan 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.0 1.6 1.9

BOM STOCK $ Last Year 29,362.04$ 17,617.22$ 17,617.22$ 16,638.49$ 15,659.75$ 7,438.38$ 14,904.73$ Plan 30,830.14$ 18,498.08$ 18,498.08$ 17,470.41$ 16,442.74$ 7,810.30$ 15,649.97$

EOM Last Year 17,617.22$ 17,617.22$ 16,638.49$ 15,659.75$ 7,438.38$ Plan 18,498.08$ 18,498.08$ 17,470.41$ 16,442.74$ 7,810.30$

MARKDOWNS $ Last Year 2,446.84$ 1,835.13$ 1,468.10$ 1,663.85$ 2,446.84$ 1,370.23$ Plan 2,569.18$ 1,926.88$ 1,541.51$ 1,747.04$ 2,569.18$ 1,438.74$ % to Sales 20.0% 25.0% 20.0% 20.0% 25.0% 35.0%% by Month 20.0% 25.0% 20.0% 20.0% 25.0% 35.0% 100.0%RevisedActual

PURCHASES $ Last Year 2,936.20$ 9,175.64$ 7,829.88$ 9,004.36$ 4,012.81$ 32,958.89$ 8,997.37$ (Retail) Plan 3,083.01$ 9,634.42$ 8,221.37$ 9,420.32$ 4,502.18$ 34,861.30$ 9,519.94$

RevisedActual

SEASON TOT. LAST YEAR PLAN ACTUAL

Sales 48,936.73$ 51,383.57$ Dollar: Dollar:

Markup % 60% 29,362.04$ 60% 30,830.14$

Markdown % 25% 25%

Gross Margin % 32.7% 32.2%

Average Stock 14,904.73$ 15,649.97$

Turnover 3.3 3.3

NOTES:

SIX-MONTH DOLLAR PLAN

URBN Inc. OVERALL STORE FOR OUTERWEAR

Caress Cooper, David Gale, and Elise Johnson

- When distributing sales throughout the year for the overall department we chose to distribute the majority to August, November, and December. We decided that sales would balance out to 20 percent for August and November and 25 percent. Although in the south or on the east coast the weather may not call for outerwear in August, the Northern and Western region’s weather still calls for jackets and outerwear. August is also the start of back to school sales, so some consumers will buy jackets and outerwear ahead of time. For November and December outerwear sales will be booming because the major-ity of the country is in the coldest of climate. Weather expert, Joe Bastardi predicts that weather in 2013 all the way to 2015 is going to be consistently more frigid across America. Also, sales in general increase throughout the month of December because of holiday shopping.

- Overall Income for URBN Inc was given on the 10k report as $2,473,801,000. The percentage of that belonging to Urban Outfitters 31.4% equaling to $776,773,000.51. By going into the Savannah Store and discussing the store’s layout and sales with the Men’s Department Manager, Andrew Neal, we decided upon a percentage of 60 percent for the women’s department and 15% for the women’s outerwear department.

- The majority of Urban Outfitters stores are located near college campuses conveniently close to the company’s target market. Because of the recent eco-nomic issues, the amount of college students is increasing. Because of this we are anticipating a 5% sales increase. - When In the Savannah store, we looked at the markdowns vs the original retail price to determine an average markdown on the product and we found that markdowns ran anything from 20% to 60%. We chose a pretty consistent markdown for each month because our inventory is consistent throughout each month. We’ve planned our purchases to be consistent as well so we predict that our only markdowns will be on few units.

- While in the Savannah Store we discussed markup with the Men’s Manager, Andrew Neal. He explained that the markup for our department is signifi-cantly high. Our Initial markup is 60 percent. We chose this percent to match the market retail price.

- Because of the high level of sales in August we’ve planned a higher BOM for August. The purchases for this BOM had been made prior to August, which is why August’s purchase are significantly lower than other months. We’ve planned the most purchases in November in preparation for the December sales.

JUSTIFICATIONS FOR URBAN OUTFITTERS OVERALL

Savannah Customer Her style is a bit edgy and thrown together. She would explain her style as classy grunge. She’s thrifty but still very trend savvy and artistically styled in her wardrobe.

On average, she will add at least one piece to her wardrobe every pay period (every two weeks). She takes pride in looking aesthetically pleasing in all aspects of her life and enjoys being very individual in her style.

Rose is a 20 year old photog-raphy student at SCAD. She lives in an upstairs studio apartmetn on Broughton Street with her cat Phoenix.

She works at the Coffee Fox, a local coffee shop just under-neath her apartment.

She loves music, travel, and thrifting to find unique buys; she is a regular at The Jinx.

She is inspired by music, textiles, tattoos, and street style.

AVG TEMPERATURE (AUG-JAN)HIGH: 90LOW: 75


BUYER

3rd Qt Sales 109,597.00$ 4th Qt Sales 91,493.00$ LY% mth for each qrtr 20% 30% 50% 20% 45% 35%

LY% mth for 6 mo 1% 4% 10% 20% 35% 30% 100%FALL FALL Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan SEASON TOTAL






PURCHASES $ Last Year 4,267.62$ 24,325.41$ 31,238.95$ 26,629.92$ 8,535.23$ 94,997.13$ (Retail) Plan 4,481.00$ 25,541.68$ 32,800.90$ 27,961.42$ 8,961.99$ 99,746.99$

RevisedActual



Markup % 60% 102,422.78$ 60% 107,543.92$

Markdown % 25% 25%


Average Stock 61,161.03$ 64,219.09$

Turnover 2.8 2.8

NOTES:


URBN Inc. Savannah, GA (C-Store)


JUSTIFICATIONS FOR SAVANNAH: C-LEVEL STORE

- Overall Income for Urban Outfitters C- level store is 3.5 million. 60 percent of that is the women’s department equaling 2.1 million and 15% is the women’s outerwear department equaling $315,000. After breaking down these numbers into quarters, we determined the women’s outerwear department season total to be $170,704.64

- The majority of Urban Outfitters stores are located near college campuses conveniently close to the company’s target market. Because of the recent economic issues, the amount of college students is increasing. Because of this we are anticipating a 5% sales increase.

- When In the Savannah store, we looked at the markdowns vs the original retail price to determine an average markdown on the product and we found that markdowns ran anything from 20% to 60%. We chose a pretty consistent markdown for each month because our inventory is consistent throughout each month. We’ve planned our purchases to be consistent as well so we predict that our only markdowns will be on few units.


- We’ve planned the most purchases in September because the weather in Savannah stays warmer longer than most regions. The temperature drops to-wards the end of October, so we have planned to have inventory prior to October and November. Second to September is August for the same reason.

Philladelphia Customer

Kat is a 23 year old printmak-ing student at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. She lives in a house on some land a few minutes outside of the city.

She Works at Rustic Music, a vintage record and guitar shop near the historic district.

She loves writing, road trips, and film; She is a regular at the Philadelphia film festival.

She is inspired by literature, open spaces, and fresh air.

AVG TEMPERATURE (AUG-JAN)HIGH: 87LOW: 62

Her style is a bit casual and tomboyish. Her favorite piece in her closet is a pair of new-age doc martens and some vintage t-shirts from the early 90s.

When it comes to her wardrobe, she doesn’t shop frequently or buy in bulk, and she likes to “shop around”. She’ll wear most of her items until they can’t be worn anymore, but she does take pride in owning unique and sometimes even humorous t-shirts.


BUYER









RevisedActual



Markup % 60% $131,686.44 60% 138,270.76$

Markdown % 25% 25%


Average Stock 68,539.66$ 71,966.64$

Turnover 3.2 3.2

NOTES:


URBN Inc. Philly, Pen (A-Store)


JUSTIFICATIONS FOR PHILLY: A-LEVEL STORE

- Overall Income for Urban Outfitters A- level store 4.5 million. 60 percent for the women’s department equaling 2.7 million and 15% for the women’s outerwear department equaling $405,000. After breaking down these numbers into quarters, we determined the women’s outerwear department season total to be $219,477.40

- The majority of Urban Outfitters stores are located near college campuses conveniently close to the company’s target market. Because of the recent eco-nomic issues, the amount of college students is increasing. Because of this we are anticipating a 5% sales increase.



We’ve planned the majority of our purchases in September and November. In Philly, The temperature drops significantly in September. We have to plan to maintain a higher level stock for a longer period of time not only for the weather, but because the level and size of the store.

Tampa Customer She is inspired by color, travel, and high fashion. Her style is fresh and modern.

Most of her wardrobe consists of shoes and accessories, but she loves print and color. She is in love with flatforms and maxi dresses.

She is fortunate when it comes to spending. She has quite a bit of funds to spend and appreciates quality just as much as she appreci-ates uniqueness. She goes on shopping sprees often and buys many pieces at a time.

Chloe is a 17 year old prospec-tive student of dance at the Uni-versity of South Florida. Her family has a rather large house, so she is continuing to live with them during college.

She works at a boutique in the middle of the city and volun-teers for events at the USF Con-temporary Art Museum.

She loves innovative design, dance, film, and culture studies. AVG TEMPERATURE (AUG-JAN)

HIGH: 90LOW: 80


BUYER









RevisedActual



Markup % 60% 58,527.31$ 60% 61,453.67$

Markdown % 25% 25%


Average Stock 36,342.67$ 38,159.80$

Turnover 2.7 2.7

NOTES:


URBN Inc. Tampa, Florida (D-Store)


JUSTIFICATIONS FOR TAMPA: D-LEVEL STORE

- Overall Income for Urban Outfitters A- level store 2 million. 60 percent for the women’s department equaling 1.2 million and 15% for the women’s outerwear department equaling $180,000. After breaking down these numbers into quarters, we determined the women’s outerwear department season total to be $97,545.51

- The majority of Urban Outfitters stores are located near college campuses conveniently close to the company’s target market. Because of the recent economic issues, the amount of college students is increasing. Because of this we are anticipating a 5% sales increase.



- We’ve planned the majority of our purchases in October and November. Comparatively, we don’t plan to order significantly high purchases or as many because the store is a D-level store located in one of the most warm climates within the country.

Assortment

Moto 30%

Sport Luxe 20% Blazer

35%

Blazer-Peacoat 15%

ASSORTMENT AND CLASSIFICATION JUSTIFICATIONS

We are planning on purchasing the most of the blazer; we decided it is overall the most trend savvy and appealing piece. Second to the blazer is the motorcycle jacket because of its popularity amongst consumers throughout previous markets. The sport luxe jacket, a modern take to the bomber, is a fairly new silhouette in the market, therefore we are purchasing a lower percentage. Lastly, the oversized blazer peacoat; it is a more high-fashion, statement piece which is appealing to the target market but may not be the most popular.

FABRIC DISTRIBUTION DETAILSMoto: Faux LeatherSport Luxe: Cotton/poly blendBlazer: Cotton/poly blendBlazer-Peacoat: Cotton/wool blend

FABRICATION Cotton/wool blend 15% Faux Leather 30% Cotton/poly blend 55%

COLOR AND PRINT JUSTIFICATIONS

According to Pantone, emerald is the statement color for 2013. Also, when looking over NYFW we noticed emerald is very current in street fashion as well. Street fashion is a huge inspiration for the target of Urban Outfitters, therefore we chose emerald as our most popular color.

We were particularly inspired by Phillip Lim’s 3.1 collection at New York fashion week. The color pallete brought to life the mixture of turquoise and emerald as a perfect couple. Cobalt, dust pink, and vivacious were also listed as colors for fall 2013. We particularly chose the dust pink and the cobalt for the dipdyed ombre blazer. We also chose the cobalt along with vivacious for the motorcycle sillhouette. We would love to see the emerald color in all styles, but we are particularly interested in a emerald peacoat.

We chose the stripe detailing specifically for the blazer and the sport luxe silhouettes because we see the stripe being a detail for a more casual style for the year of 2013.

The dipdyed ombre print will only be used for the blazer. We feel like this print is more fashion forward and better used for cotton/polyester than it is for faux leather or cotton/wool blend. It makes more sense to us to have the ombre print only on the blazer silhouette.

DISTRIBUTIONEmerald 30% Turquoise 10%Cobalt 25%Dust pink 10%Magenta 15%Stripe Detail 5%Ombre Dip-dye 5%

PRICING JUSTIFICATIONS

Our highest retail price are the blazer/peacoat. In general, the cost is higher because it involves a higher quali-ty fabric and more of it to produce the garment. Also, the item is more fashion forward. Second to the blazer/peacoat is the blazer. Our blazer will be produced in solid colors, ombre dipdyed print, and solids with stripe details. Because of the wide range of styles in this silhouette, we priced it on the higher end. The Moto silhou-ette has been in the market the longest, so our price is on the lower scale. However, the colors we are produc-ing them in is the selling point in making the silhouette more trendy of a product. The sport luxe silhouette, a modern take to the bomber, is newer to the market. The sport luxe is trend driven but still very casual, so we are pricing it a bit lower as well.

$70 $75 $95

$170

Resources

Resources:

History: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/urban-outfitters-inc-history/http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/urbn/profile

10K Report: http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2012/1/31/t.aspx?t=XNAS:URB-N&ft=10-K&d=bdd98749569c3379bae25fc39b5b6c45

10Q Report: http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Quarterly-Report/2011/10/31/t.aspx?t=X-NAS:URBN&ft=10-Q&d=d3af5250769359171e4fbea26e7bcca7

Colors: http://www.pantone.com/pages/index.aspx?pg=21055

Weather: http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/combination-of-factors-could-m/36990

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/urban-outfitters-inc-history/

http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/urbn/profile

http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2012/1/31/t.aspx?t=XNAS:URBN&ft=10-K&d=bdd98749569c3379bae25fc39b5b6c45

http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2012/1/31/t.aspx?t=XNAS:URBN&ft=10-K&d=bdd98749569c3379bae25fc39b5b6c45

http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Quarterly-Report/2011/10/31/t.aspx?t=XNAS:URBN&ft=10-Q&d=d3af5250769359171e4fbea26e7bcca7

http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Quarterly-Report/2011/10/31/t.aspx?t=XNAS:URBN&ft=10-Q&d=d3af5250769359171e4fbea26e7bcca7

http://www.pantone.com/pages/index.aspx?pg=21055

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/combination-of-factors-could-m/36990

Documents

Retail buying final