Sales at Urban Outfitters' once-unstoppable brand are mysteriously falling
Instagram.com/Anthropologie
Anthropologie was Urban Outfitters' free-spirited star brand.
It was devoid of the controversies that often plagued its more rough-around-the-edges sister brand, Urban Outfitters.
But that's changing.
On Monday, when Urban Outfitters, Inc. reported fourth quarter earnings, the company announced that Anthropologie's comparable sales had dipped by 2%.
The answer to declining sales might be found by looking at a fellow apparel retailer's missteps.
Further, the company's greatest misfire is markedly similar to the ailing J. Crew, Sarah Halzack of The Washington Post writes. Anthropologie, like J. Crew, has been selling clothing that's alienating its core customers. In May, Halzack reported that Anthropologie's dress selection, in particular, didn't resonate with shoppers; they were "too ridiculous," she wrote.
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And similarly to how a frustrated J. Crew customer suggested how the retailer could repair itself, an Anthropologie shopper who goes by Roxy posted her suggestions on her blog, Effortless Anthropologie.
Firstly, she encouraged the retailer to "do what [it does] best. Classics with a slightly updated, feminine twist. No one likes wearing a box."
She also pleaded to the company to maintain a solid assortment of apparel — "20% workwear, 20% flexible wear (meaning items that can double as both work and casual wear), 30% casual and weekend wear, 10% sleepwear, 5% fine garments and the rest can be divide dup however the heck [it wants]." She also doesn't want the company to turn into a Zara or a store that heavily promotes, it appears. "Do not attempt to replicate any trends lesser stores are interpreting at a lower price point — this is a losing battle," she writes.
Additionally, she reminded the company that "quality is key amongst [its] customers," and that "nothing is more insulting to customers than poor customer service."
She encouraged the company to "inspire [its] customers by showing how versatile [its] clothing is," by having Instagram pages for individual stores.
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"Clearly the task at hand for the Anthropologie team is to improve the apparel assortment," Urban Outfitters' President and CEO Richard Hayne said on Monday's conference call. He said that "positive results from this work could become visible in the first six months of FY 2017." Fiscal 2017 has already begun for Urban Outfitters, Inc.
He pointed to the dress selection that is currently available online and beginning to come into stores, and said that comparable weekly sales for that sector have "gone from negative to double-digit positive."
However, not everything's completely dismal for Anthropologie. Bright spots in Anthropologie's business include wedding off-shoot BHLDN and home decor off-shoot Terrain, which Hayne reported had double-digit positive comparable sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.
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