Urban Outfitters 2010 Annual Report Download - page 12

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 12 of the 2010 Urban Outfitters annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 79

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79

competition from small boutiques that offer an individualized shopping experience similar to the one
we strive to provide to our target customers. In addition, some of our suppliers offer products directly
to consumers and certain of our competitors.
Along with certain retail segment factors noted above, other key competitive factors for our
direct-to-consumer operations include the success or effectiveness of customer mailing lists, response
rates, catalog presentation, merchandise delivery and web site design and availability. Our
direct-to-consumer operations compete against numerous catalogs and web sites, which may have a
greater volume of circulation and web traffic.
Our Free People and Leifsdottir wholesale businesses compete with numerous wholesale
companies based on the quality, fashion and price of our wholesale product offerings. Many of our
wholesale business competitors’ products have a wider distribution network. In addition, certain of our
wholesale competitors have greater name recognition and financial and other resources.
Trademarks and Service Marks
We are the registered owner in the United States of certain service marks and trademarks,
including, but not limited to “Urban Outfitters”, “Anthropologie”, “Free People”, “Leifsdottir”,
“Terrain”, “BDG Guaranteed Tough”, “Co-Operative”, “Deletta”, “Ecote”, “Eloise”, “Idra”,
“Intimately Free People”, “Odille”, “Urban Renewal” and “Urbn.com”. Each mark is renewable
indefinitely, contingent upon continued use at the time of renewal. In addition, we currently have
pending registration applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering certain other
marks. We also own marks that have been registered in foreign countries, and have applications for
marks pending in additional foreign countries as well. We regard our marks as important to our
business due to their name recognition with our customers. We are not aware of any valid claims of
infringement or challenges to our right to use any of our marks in the United States.
Employees
As of January 31, 2010, we employed approximately 14,000 people, approximately 41.0% of
whom were full-time employees. The number of part-time employees fluctuates depending on seasonal
needs. Of our total employees, 2% work in the wholesale segment and the remaining 98% work in our
retail segment. None of our employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement, and we
believe that our relations with our employees are excellent.
Financial Information about Operations
We aggregate our operations into two reportable segments, the retail segment and the wholesale
segment. See Note 13, “Segment Reporting,” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements for
additional information.
Financial Information about Geographical Areas
See Note 13, “Segment Reporting,” in the notes to our consolidated financial statements for
information regarding net sales from domestic and foreign operations and long-lived assets.
Seasonality
Our business is subject to seasonal fluctuations. See Item 7: Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Seasonality and Quarterly Results for
additional information.
10