Urban Outfitters China plans to expand

US retailer Urban Outfitters has announced global expansion plans which involve a broadened commitment to China. According to a statement from the brand’s CEO Richard Hayne, Urban Outfitters China will be housing inventory while the company opens new locations in Europe and the Middle East, as well as taking on new distribution partners.

The brand’s parent firm Urbn recently posted third quarter net sales of US$973.5 million, a 9 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Urban Outfitters enjoyed strong sales while participating in the singles day shopping spree on e-tail platform Tmall.

“We plan to establish a larger presence [in China] by mid-next year. To do this we will switch to the much larger Tmall Classic platform, hold inventory in-country and fulfill orders through a third-party service provider in China. In addition, we plan to sign leases for several stores to open in calendar year 2020,” said Hayne.

Urbn will be expanding its network of 61 stores in Europe to 100 within three years, and will operate more than 10 stores in the Middle East by 2020.