Urban Outfitters Holiday Sales Up 28%

Philadelphia Urban Outfitters Inc. said Thursday its holiday sales climbed 28% compared with the prior year on strong sales across its brands. Sales for November and December rose to $356 million, with December sales up 27%.

Direct-to-consumer sales surged 39%, with strong double-digit growth across the company’s Anthropologie, Free People and Urban Outfitters brands. Free People wholesale sales gained 46%.

Anthropologie’s same-store sales for the two-month period increased 16%, while Free People same-store sales grew 17%. Urban Outfitters same-store sales rose 5%. Same-stores sales for the three brands combined climbed 9% compared with a 5% decline a year ago.

Year-to-date same-store sales increased 5%, while total sales for the period ended Dec. 31, 2007 grew 22% to $1.4 billion. Direct-to-consumer sales climbed 34%, while Free People wholesale sales increased 29%.

Urban Outfitters opened 35 new stores in the fiscal year, including 16 Urban Outfitters, 12 Anthropologie and seven Free People stores. The company anticipates opening two or three more stores in January.