The Leader - November/December 2008 - (Page 24)

REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT Blending the Old with the New: Urban Outﬁtters’ HQ Moves To Philadelphia Navy Yard BY DAVE ZIEL, JEFF SCHERER AND JOSH STOWERS T his August, Urban Outﬁtters Inc. (URBN) posted one of the best quarters in its 38-year history with sales of $454 million. The announcement surprised Wall Street analysts who were predicting the international fashion retailer to post more moderate growth. After all, the economy is struggling. Comparable retailers such as The Gap and Ann Taylor are down. Consumer spending slowed throughout the summer. Yet URBN announced a 79 percent year-over-year increase. The results shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Urban Outﬁtters Inc., which owns and operates four retail brands (Urban Outﬁtters, Free People, Anthropologie and Terrain) has been on a fast track for the past few years. The company ﬁrst pushed past $1 billion in annual sales in 2006 – the same year it moved into new headquarters in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. According to company founder and President Dick Hayne, that’s no coincidence. “Our company is based on creative talent and whatever we can do to attract that creative talent is really going to put us in a favorable position,” said Hayne. “So from that perspective, our headquarters at the Philadelphia Navy Yard have exceeded my expectation. The buildings are spectacular. The employees have responded. We’ve had many talented people come through here on interviews who choose to work here, in large part because the buildings are spectacular. The campus has sparked recruitment and improved creative collaboration which ultimately impacts our bottom line. It’s exceeded our expectations.” By all accounts, Urban Outﬁtters Inc.'s move to the Philadelphia Navy Yard ignited the company’s explosive growth. In addition to record sales, Urban Outﬁtters Inc. attributes several key metrics to the new headquarters: employee turnover is down 11 percent; improved employee health/morale and productivity; time to market has been cut in half; increased inter-brand collabora- tion resulted in the launch of a new brand; and stronger relationships within the fashion and design industry. The campus is successful because it mirrors Urban Outﬁtters' culture, a deﬁning goal of Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, the Minneapolis-based ﬁrm that designed all 330,000 sq. ft. (30,658 sq. m.) of workspace. The design is true to the energy and nature of the company and therein lies its success. The ﬁrm embraced both the history of the Navy Yard and Urban Outﬁtters’ culture, blending the two into an incredible layering of old and new, purposefully leaving traces of the past to inform future generations. It’s easy to see why the surroundings are so inspiring today. Huge U.S. Navy warships docked along the Delaware River contrast sharply with bucolic green ﬁelds and historic red brick buildings. Inside each of Urban Outﬁtter Inc.’s ﬁve buildings, the layered texture of old meeting new continues the juxtaposition. Egyptian-style cast iron columns have been lightly sanded and 2 0 0 8 TH E LE ADE R 24 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leader - November/December 2008

The Leader - November/December 2008 Leadership Contents Message from the CEO Real Estate in the News Leveraging Business Geography My Work @ Bank of America Blending the Old with the New A Tool for Growth Creating Real Estate Value Nokia-Siemens Networks’ Peter Doran DTZ’s James Maddock Annual Economic Development Directory The Georgia Report Location Profile: Magdeburg, Germany Linking Corporate Real Estate to the Enterprise 3rd Quarter 2008 Adding Value in Challenging Times Australia and New York Shell’s Paul Huston Economic Development in the News A Look Ahead In our Next Issue Calendar of Seminars Index of Advertisers Chapter Learning: The Global Perspective

The Leader - November/December 2008

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