Marketing Principles Summative Brand Analysis - Urban outfitters
Brand Analysis: A case study of Urban Outfitters
Urban Outfitters is a unique, creative and cutting-edge retail brand, with more than 130 stores operating across the United States, Canada and Europe. The label offers an eclectic mix of fashion forward, culturally inspired lifestyle merchandise in a variety of unconventional, creative and captivating retail environments, both in store and online, in order to provide a “lifestyle-specific shopping experience for educated, urban-minded individual in the 18 – 30 year old range” (URBN.com). This “upscale homeless” generation of affluent, experimental and inquisitive University students desires a brand that offers a range of authentic, on-trend products with the opportunity to engage in a customer experience that personifies their interest in popular culture, music and fashion (Gardner & Levy, 1955; Independent, 1998). Urban Outfitter’s objective is to provide a retail service that meets these distinct lifestyle aspirations (Bulmer & Oliver, 2004). To do this it uses three main strategy practices; a well-selected product range specific to the targeted consumer; an arousing retail environment; and an engaging integrated marketing communications approach. As their mission statement affirms, the intrinsic approach to this entire strategy is the constant endeavour to “understand our customers and connect with them on an emotional level” in order to determine customer behaviour (URBN.com; Bulmer and Oliver, 2004; Kimmel, 2010).
A number of facets in Urban Outfitter’s customer-inspired product range position the brand ahead of competitors in the eyes of the target consumer (Hackley, 2009). Firstly, the brand operates as much more than just a retailer of apparel - it markets lifestyle merchandise; clothes, accessories, art, music, home décor, and culture. Thus it offers a fresh, alternative lifestyle image to its distinct target consumers, who actively strive towards social psychology concepts of social differentiation and
Urban Outfitters is a unique, creative and cutting-edge retail brand, with more than 130 stores operating across the United States, Canada and Europe. The label offers an eclectic mix of fashion forward, culturally inspired lifestyle merchandise in a variety of unconventional, creative and captivating retail environments, both in store and online, in order to provide a “lifestyle-specific shopping experience for educated, urban-minded individual in the 18 – 30 year old range” (URBN.com). This “upscale homeless” generation of affluent, experimental and inquisitive University students desires a brand that offers a range of authentic, on-trend products with the opportunity to engage in a customer experience that personifies their interest in popular culture, music and fashion (Gardner & Levy, 1955; Independent, 1998). Urban Outfitter’s objective is to provide a retail service that meets these distinct lifestyle aspirations (Bulmer & Oliver, 2004). To do this it uses three main strategy practices; a well-selected product range specific to the targeted consumer; an arousing retail environment; and an engaging integrated marketing communications approach. As their mission statement affirms, the intrinsic approach to this entire strategy is the constant endeavour to “understand our customers and connect with them on an emotional level” in order to determine customer behaviour (URBN.com; Bulmer and Oliver, 2004; Kimmel, 2010).
A number of facets in Urban Outfitter’s customer-inspired product range position the brand ahead of competitors in the eyes of the target consumer (Hackley, 2009). Firstly, the brand operates as much more than just a retailer of apparel - it markets lifestyle merchandise; clothes, accessories, art, music, home décor, and culture. Thus it offers a fresh, alternative lifestyle image to its distinct target consumers, who actively strive towards social psychology concepts of social differentiation and