Urban Outfitters

Never mind the blow that GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C.'s decision to leave Center City has dealt Philadelphia's already vacancy-battered commercial landlords. What about the effect on the pharmaceutical company's 1,300 employees, who will move by 2012's end from a bustling downtown location to the Navy Yard? Talk about culture shock. Their new digs will be part of a tranquil, suburbanlike corporate campus along the Delaware River at the city's southern edge - the towers they now occupy on 16th Street, between Vine and Race Streets, but a speck, if that, on the distant skyline.

Urban Outfitters, the Philadelphia clothing and home-design retailer, yesterday reported its first year-end results since it became a public company in November. Chairman Richard Hayne said sales at new stores contributed $3 million to sales gains in the quarter and $11.3 million for the year. The company's merchandise wholesale division contributed $278,000 in the quarter and $5.5 million for the year. Hayne said that while the company expected continued profit and sales growth, it was unlikely to be in the 13 percent to 20 percent range of the last two years.

It was back to the future at Urban Outfitters Inc. on Monday, as founder Richard A. Hayne, chief executive since his predecessor CEO's surprise departure in January, lauded a management team that included another recently returned veteran, Ted Marlow, and pledged to return the retailer to a brighter future. "I have complete confidence in the executive team that's assembled around the table here in Philadelphia," Hayne, whose company has headquarters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, told investment analysts during his first earnings call as CEO since protege and 18-year veteran Glen T. Senk resigned, rattling markets two months ago. The company reported thinning profits on $2.5 billion in global sales for the year that ended Jan. 31, capping a yearlong odyssey of fashion mistakes at Anthropologie and its namesake Urban Outfitters division that led to costly discounting at both chains.

Urban Outfitters Inc., the Philadelphia retailer, said net income for the quarter ended Jan. 31 more than doubled from the same period a year earlier - to $82.5 million, or 56 cents per share. Combined sales at the company's stores - Anthropologie, BHLDN, Free People, Terrain and Urban Outfitters - was up 17 percent, to $856.8 million for the quarter, compared to $730.6 million in the prior-year quarter. While sales at stores open at least a year were flat, the company said comparable sales including online operations increased 11 percent.

Stock analyst Christina de Marval can crunch Urban Outfitters' financial numbers with the best of them, but she doesn't need her calculator to understand why the Philadelphia retailing company recorded a remarkable fourth-quarter performance. "I bought a sweater and a stuffed cow that stands up on its own," the analyst said. "I thought it was adorable. " Urban Outfitters, which operates 49 Urban Outfitters and 32 Anthropologie stores, reported yesterday that fourth-quarter net income increased by 71 percent.

Urban Outfitters Inc. said its board approved the repurchase of an additional 10 million shares of the Philadelphia company's common stock. The company said it had completed the buyback of a separate 10 million shares that was authorized last November. As of early June, the retailer had 160 million shares outstanding. The stock closed Friday at $24.77, up 56 cents but down from a high this year of $38.50 in early March. Urban operates stores that sell apparel, accessories and housewares.

  The U.S. Labor Department has sanctioned several Los Angeles garment contractors for sweatshop conditions while making wares for Urban Outfitters Inc., Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., Forever 21 Inc., the company that owns T.J. Maxx and Marshall's (TJX Cos Inc.), and others. In a sweep of a single building in the city's fashion district, Wage and Hour Division investigators found 10 garment contractors had violated minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping laws, such as paying workers less than the federal hourly minimum wage of $7.25, and California's $8 minimum wage, the agency said.

Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters said this morning that fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 15 percent to $856.8 million, beating analysts' estimates. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected revenue of $836.6 million. CEO Richard Hayne said in a statement that the quarterly performance was helped by new stores, better products and more effective marketing across its brands. The Philadelphia company, whose brands also include Anthropologie, BHLDN, Free People, and Terrain, said revenue from stores open at least a year was flat.

Urban Outfitters has strongly denied allegations, fueled by a Twitter frenzy, that it stole a necklace design from a jewelry artist in Chicago. In a statement Saturday, the Philadelphia fashion-and-accessories company said it "unequivocally" had not copied the work of Stevie Koerner. Koerner, who makes silver necklaces in the shape of American states with hearts punched through them, took to her Twitter account Wednesday to accuse the chain of illegally copying her work. She posted pictures of her necklaces alongside photos of strikingly similar ones sold by Urban Outfitters.

NEW YORK - Kaching! The cash register may be nearing its final sale. Stores across the country are ditching the old-fashioned, clunky machines and having salespeople - and even shoppers themselves - ring up sales on smartphones and tablet computers. Barneys New York, a luxury retailer, this year plans to use iPads or iPod Touch devices for credit- and debit-card purchases in seven of its nearly two dozen regular-price stores. Urban Outfitters, a teen clothing chain based in Philadelphia, ordered its last traditional register last fall and plans to go completely mobile one day. And Walmart, the world's largest retailer, is testing a "Scan & Go" app that lets customers scan their items as they shop.

Urban Outfitters Inc., the Philadelphia retailer, said net income for the quarter ended Jan. 31 more than doubled from the same period a year earlier - to $82.5 million, or 56 cents per share. Combined sales at the company's stores - Anthropologie, BHLDN, Free People, Terrain and Urban Outfitters - was up 17 percent, to $856.8 million for the quarter, compared to $730.6 million in the prior-year quarter. While sales at stores open at least a year were flat, the company said comparable sales including online operations increased 11 percent.

In the Region   Urban's quarterly profit doubles   Urban Outfitters Inc. , the Philadelphia retailer, said net income for the quarter ended Jan. 31 more than doubled from the same period a year earlier - to $82.5 million, or 56 cents per share. Combined sales at the company's stores - Anthropologie, BHLDN, Free People, Terrain and Urban Outfitters - was up 17 percent, to $856.8 million for the quarter, compared with $730.6 million in the prior-year quarter. While sales at stores open at least a year were flat, the company said comparable sales including online operations increased 11 percent.

Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters said this morning that fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 15 percent to $856.8 million, beating analysts' estimates. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected revenue of $836.6 million. CEO Richard Hayne said in a statement that the quarterly performance was helped by new stores, better products and more effective marketing across its brands. The Philadelphia company, whose brands also include Anthropologie, BHLDN, Free People, and Terrain, said revenue from stores open at least a year was flat.

Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters reported this morning that it had record sales for the 2012 holiday season. The retailer - which owns Anthropologie, BHLDN, Free People, Terrain and Urban Outfitters brands - said in a press release that total sales tallied $666 million for November and December. That reflects a 15 percent increase over the same period in 2011, the company said. "We are pleased to announce a 15 percent increase in our Holiday sales, driven by strength in all brands," CEO Richard A. Hayne said in the release.

  The U.S. Labor Department has sanctioned several Los Angeles garment contractors for sweatshop conditions while making wares for Urban Outfitters Inc., Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., Forever 21 Inc., the company that owns T.J. Maxx and Marshall's (TJX Cos Inc.), and others. In a sweep of a single building in the city's fashion district, Wage and Hour Division investigators found 10 garment contractors had violated minimum wage, overtime and record-keeping laws, such as paying workers less than the federal hourly minimum wage of $7.25, and California's $8 minimum wage, the agency said.

Profitability declined as sales increased 9 percent at Urban Outfitters Inc., during the three months ended April 30, the Philadelphia-based retailer reported in releasing quarterly earnings Monday. The company said it collected net profit of $34 million on $569 million in sales, a decline in margin from the same period a year earlier, when the specialty apparel retailer posted earnings of $39 million on $524 million in sales. Net earnings per share for both quarters remained at 23 cents.

Urban Outfitters Inc. is facing three resolutions put forth by investors seeking to change corporate governance practices at the Philadelphia retail chain. The first wants the board of directors (currently all white men) to commit to considering diversity when picking board candidates. The second urges the company to switch from a "plurality vote" to a "majority vote" standard. And the third seeks to "declassify" the board so all directors face election annually. Naturally, Urban Outfitters' board recommends shareholders vote against all of those proposals when they gather at company headquarters at the Navy Yard at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.