Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) appears to be one of the retailers that faced a tough holiday season. Along with the likes of Macy’s, Nordstrom and Sears, Urban Outfitters just didn’t make the cut and investors inevitably sent shares lower.
As we have said before, retailers have to learn how to survive in this Amazon world, and much of this comes from rolling out omnichannel and e-commerce platforms to reach more consumers. We’ve seen Target partner with Shipt and Walmart acquire Jet.com to compete at the next level. However, this can be a problem for retailers without the resources of these big-box giants.
Unfortunately, Urban Outfitters was one of those retailers that felt the sting this season. Despite comparable sales increasing, this was not up to par with what was expected.
During the two months ended December 31, 2017, total net sales increased 3.6% from the same period last year. Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 2%, driven by strong, double-digit growth in the direct-to-consumer channel, partially offset by negative retail store sales.
By brand, Comparable Retail segment net sales increased 5% at Free People, 2% at the Anthropologie Group and 1% at Urban Outfitters. The Wholesale segment net sales increased 6.8%.
For the 11 months ended December 31, 2017, total net sales increased 1.2% over the same period last year. Comparable Retail segment net sales decreased 1% and Wholesale segment net sales increased 9.9% in this period as well.
During this same 11 months, Urban Outfitters opened a total of 18 new locations, including eight Free People stores, five Urban Outfitters stores, four Anthropologie Group stores and one Food and Beverage restaurant. The company also closed six locations: three Free People stores, one Urban Outfitters store, one Anthropologie Group store and one Food and Beverage restaurant.
Shares of Urban Outfitters traded down about 5% at $32.14 on Tuesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $32.18 and a 52-week range of $16.19 to $36.10.
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