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.