Urban Outfitters to launch bridal-shop concept in 2011

Philadelphia Urban Outfitters plans to enter the bridal business next year with a new format that will focus on wedding gowns, intimate attire, special occasion gifts and related items.

During a fourth-quarter conference call, the retailer said the still-unnamed bridal concept will launch with a Web site on Valentine’s Day 2011, followed by stores.

“We think this is going to be a meaningful business," CEO Glen T. Senk told analysts, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In other news, Urban Outfitters will open the first standing store for its Leifsdottir wholesale clothing label. The line is currently sold in 65 specialty and department stores across the country.

In addition, the company plans to open a total of approximately 45 locations for its two largest divisions: the 155-unit Urban Outfitters and the 137-store Anthropologie. The retailer plans more growth in Europe, and expects to start planning expansion in the Far East, where it is likely to debut in 2012 or 2013.

On the e-commerce front, Urban Outfitters is deploying new data-mining software that will allow it to target its e-mail marketing campaigns and to capitalize on its customer base in social networks, the report said.