The Bride Wore...Khaki? Urban Outfitters' Crazy Bridal-Store Plan
Urban Outfitters' surging sales and profits have given the company breathing room to try new things. One of its planned initiatives for next year -- the launch of a bridal-store concept -- takes the chain far from its core casual-dress roots. Too far.
It's easy to see why Urban Outfitters would want to tinker with new formats. All the growth in 2009 came from its Anthropologie and Free People chains, not from Urban Outfitters. Despite the opening of 13 new UO stores, sales declined last year for the core brand. Message: diversification is good.
"We think this is going to be a meaningful business," CEO Glen Senk told analysts in the company's fourth-quarter conference call.
But hold the congratulations, because bridal is a notoriously difficult business. Even major department-store players, which could have leveraged the bridal purchasing knowhow in their full-line stores, have tossed weddingwear chains out the door like end-of-ceremony bridal bouquets.
In recent years, as some newlyweds opted for more casual weddings, bridal chains suffered. When Federated Department Stores -- now Macy's -- bought the May Co. in 2000 and got sector leader David's Bridal along with the deal, they couldn't wait to spin it off. David's is now owned by turnaround artist Leonard Green & Partners. Gingiss/Gary's Tux Shop went bankrupt and was sold for "pocket lint," by the owners' description, to May in 2003. May, in turn, unloaded 500-store After Hours Formalwear, into which Gingiss was merged, on Men's Wearhouse. That chain benefited by integrating tuxedo sales into many of its own stores.
But it's hard to imagine tuxedos working for any of Urban Outfitters brands. Bridal is a business Urban Outfitters knows nothing about, a special-occasion driven, high-ticket purchase scenario. This is a long, long way from selling $40 shorts.
In general, apparel side-projects generally haven't fared so well in the current tough economy. Recently, Abercrombie & Fitch closed its Ruehl chain and it's expected that American Eagle may close its Martin + Osa stores soon. Both these spinoffs simply hoped to appeal to the core brand's existing customers as they got a bit older.
What UO would be attempting here is more difficult by far. Other UO initiatives, including growing Anthropologie, Free People and its Leifsdottir wholesale brand, are better bets than bridal, which is likely to leave the company singing the wedding-bell blues.
Photo via Flickr user Wonderlane