Urban Outfitters is a very popular global retail brand among women of all ages. They are known for their funky, unique, and trendy clothing that many people would love to get their hands on. Not only is their clothing trendy, but it is also adorable and stylish and makes for a great outfit. Due to its success, many wonder what inspired the start of this popular brand.

Urban Outfitters was founded in 1970 in Philadelphia, PA by Richard Hayne, Judy Wicks, and Scott Belair. Hayne, Wicks, and Belair created the company as a project for their entrepreneurship class at the University of Pennsylvania. The company was originally founded with the name Free People but the name was later changed to Urban Outfitters in 1976. 

Urban Outfitters is known to be an American fashion chain, meaning there are hundreds of stores that can be found around the United States. The first store opened in West Philadelphia, and eventually grew from just one storefront to a total of 685 stores worldwide as of 2021 with 562 of them being located in the U.S. 

The brand as we know it carries multiple stores including Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and many more well known stores. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s, Urban continued to grow and their product offerings quickly expanded. Not only did they sell fashionable clothing but also sold accessories, music records, and much more. They also began to sell beauty and wellness products around 2011 and later started offering home goods and furniture in 2015. 

In the early 2000s, Urban was faced with criticism for their selling of products that people took as offensive and insensitive. The company responded by making stricter guidelines for their products and their advertisement. Despite these controversies, Urban Outfitters continued to thrive and expand throughout the world.