Wow.. this is a pretty surprising read.. maybe im late on this and everyone knows about it already but its new to me so.. yeah. it’s really unfortunate to read this considering a couple designers that im really into are doing specialty lines for UO (by Corpus and Lark & Wolff by Steven Alan):
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The Urban Outfitters brand is a bastion of liberal freedoms. The products sold in its stores can be irreverent, quirky, and on the the cutting edge. This brand reputation is how they have distinguished themselves in the marketplace.
An interesting article from ThisIsMoney, suggests that there’s a gap between the liberal brand reputation which Urban Outfitters has established, and the conservative viewpoints of its corporate company.
“Urban Outfitters is a triumph of marketing - a hugely successful business that has disguised the gap between what it is and what its customers suppose it to be.”
From ThisIsMoney:
It seems unlikely that many of the staff or the customers know much about the owner and boss of Urban - a brilliant retailer called Richard Hayne whose views would be a serious risk to sales were his profile to rise.
Hayne started the business in the 1970s, taking it public in 1993 and bringing it to Britain in 1998. He is still the biggest shareholder and a seriously rich man - a billionaire by some estimates. You only have to look to see that there is nothing remotely hip about him. There is surely a bigger gulf between Hayne and his customer base than any other High Street retailer.
Shopping in Urban makes you feel like you are somewhere radically Left-wing, an antidote to the corporate blandness of The Gap. But Hayne is a stanch conservative who donates money to Republican politicians, not least Rick Santorum, a now failed Senator whose views on homosexuality are both bizarre and old-fashioned.
Hayne doesn’t give many interviews precisely because he’s afraid that college slackers who get to know him will suddenly realise that buying his clothes is like giving cash to George Bush. -Link.
16 responses so far ↓
1 Marissa // Jul 24, 2008 at 4:04 pm
this disappoints me
2 cynthia // Jul 24, 2008 at 4:28 pm
thatss upsetting. and i went there today :[
3 Justin Kase // Jul 24, 2008 at 4:40 pm
good business man. dumb article.
4 meyomom // Jul 24, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Corporation 101. Never shopped there and never will. GOOD POST KEEP. IT UP! Trevs Mama.
5 brad // Jul 24, 2008 at 9:36 pm
thanks for the post.. puts things into perspective.. i think?
6 jenn // Jul 25, 2008 at 12:43 am
who gives a shit, wear what u like
7 melissa // Jul 25, 2008 at 8:10 am
always knew that….such a stupid carbon copy store… you buy something from there and you look like everyone else on Melrose
8 Rob // Jul 25, 2008 at 2:09 pm
If you don’t want your money to end up being donated to the Republican Party, then don’t buy things. Ever.
And rest assured, the Republican Party will not be giving money to W.
9 yurmompants // Jul 25, 2008 at 10:47 pm
oh noes! that’s so evil. who gives a shit, you wanna dig into everyone’s closet and see what their political affiliation is, go for it. then don’t buy gas at exxon, or your groceries at ralphs, or drink your tap water. those ‘assholes’ donate to the republican party too.
10 Docta Dawe // Jul 26, 2008 at 4:08 am
Great post!! I enjoyed it so much I re-posted on my website, of course giving you guys credit. I found this story to be so ironic… a lot of people will be really surprised to find this out…
11 Daniel LA Riots // Jul 26, 2008 at 5:19 pm
i think there is a bit of an issue when someone goes through the trouble of avoiding interviews etc. etc. to hide the fact that they are pretty much the opposite of what everyone thinks they are.. wouldnt you agree? much different than a gas station or ralph’s which arent really trying to portray an image like UO is..
12 paul // Jul 27, 2008 at 1:28 am
=0
13 Docta Dawe // Jul 27, 2008 at 7:59 pm
i think there is a bit of an issue when someone goes through the trouble of avoiding interviews etc. etc. to hide the fact that they are pretty much the opposite of what everyone thinks they are.. wouldnt you agree?
Couldn’t agree more.
http://search.urbanoutfitters.com/?q=obama
http://search.urbanoutfitters.com/?q=mccain
…just a little ironic.
14 Db Regime // Jul 27, 2008 at 9:45 pm
wow.
thanks for posting this up, d.
15 yurmompants // Jul 27, 2008 at 11:00 pm
hey “le disko” um, you have an urban outfitters ad on your blog.
talk about kettle/tea pot/black.
http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5152/uoar6.png
16 daniel // Jul 28, 2008 at 9:55 am
hey guy with a
i dont have any control over the automated ads that pop up on this site (or the myspace site if that is what you are talking about). so yeah.. that’s hilarious though.
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