Urban Outfitters names new president; posts record Q4 sales

Urban Outfitters ended the year with record sales and a new leader for its namesake brand.

The fashion and lifestyle company, whose banners also include Anthropologie and Free People, appointed Francis Pierrel as president of Urban Outfitters, with responsibility for the brand in North America. He will report to Sheila Harrington, global CEO of Urban Outfitters and the Free People Group. 

Most recently, from 2016 to 2021, Pierrel served as CEO of Club Monaco. Prior to Club Monaco, he was president of stores and e-commerce for Ralph Lauren in North America. Pierrel has also held senior roles in wholesale, retail and e-commerce at Lacoste and Diesel across the U.S. and Europe.

Urban Outfitters CEO Richard A. Hayne described Pierrel as a “seasoned omnichannel retail executive with deep experience in managing iconic brands across all channels - e-commerce, stores, and wholesale.”

“We believe his strong leadership will greatly benefit the Urban Outfitters brand,” he said.

Urban Outfitters’ total company net sales rose to a record $1.332 billion for the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared to $1.088 for the year-ago quarter.  Net sales increased 13.9% compared to the pre-pandemic quarter that ended Jan. 31, 2020. (The company noted that, due to the material impact of COVID-19 on its business operations in fiscal 2021, it was comparing fiscal 2022 results to fiscal 2020.)

Comparable retail segment net sales increased 14%, driven by strong double-digit growth in digital channel sales, partially offset by low double-digit negative retail store sales primarily due to reduced store traffic. By brand, comparable retail segment net sales increased 49% at the Free People Group, 14% at the Anthropologie Group and 3% at Urban Outfitters.

Wholesale segment net sales decreased 22% primarily from reducing the Free People Group’s sales to promotional wholesale customers.

For the year ended Jan. 31, total company net sales increased 14.2% to $4.548 billion compared to the year ended January 31, 2020. Total company net sales for the year ended Jan. 31, 2021, were $3.449 billion.

As of Jan. 31, 2022, Urban Outfitters operated 261 namesake stores in the United States, Canada and Europe and websites; 238 Anthropologie Group stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, catalogs and websites; 173 Free People stores in the United States, Canada and Europe, catalogs and websites, 10 Menus & Venues restaurants, two Urban Outfitters franchisee-owned stores and one Anthropologie Group franchisee-owned store.

Free People, FP Movement and Urban Outfitters also wholesale sell their products through department and specialty stores worldwide, digital businesses and the company’s retail segment.