URBN

Like every other 20-something female, I am head over heels for Anthropologie.

The feminine clothing, the seemingly-vintage home goods, the stellar store design and installations. Every time I walk into a store, I'm greeted by wafts of lavender-lilac-something goodness, distressed driftwood, and high ceilings. I almost feel more at home in an Anthropologie store than I do in my own apartment (still a work in progress). 


I have to wonder, how much does the actual store affect my purchases? Would that Cherimoya caftan look just as enticing in--gasp--a mall? Would I pay $168 for it under florescent bulbs? I'm prone to say probably not. I'm the first to admit that I'm more or less hypnotized by this place from the minute I step through the vintage looking doors. I imagine myself looking effortlessly chic on every imaginable occasion, inviting friends over for afternoon tea and using my french countryside vintage-esque plateware, and then curling up in my hand-dyed, original comforter for the night (reading first-edition classic novels, no less). Like the Kooples in my last post, Anthropologie has defined its target market to a T, enabling them to sell not only their products, but the lifestyle that these products may (or may not) promise.


It's no coincidence. I stumbled upon the company that owns and manages Anthropologie, a firm called URBAN, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Predictably enough, the also own Free People, Urban Outfitters, Terrain (nature & gardening goodies), and the new wedding line, BHLDN (notice any patterns forming?). On their website, URBN explains that "our established ability to understand our customers and connect with them on an emotional level is the reason for our success". I would say this more or less nails it. Almost every company is begging for the means to make an emotional connection with a customer. This ensures they keep coming back, for the feeling. URBN even goes so far as to say "The emphasis is on creativity. Our goal is to offer a product assortment and an environment so compelling and distinctive that the customer feels an empathetic connection to the brand and is persuaded to buy". Again, I have to agree. This is exactly what happens when I step into an Anthropologie (shopping at Urban Outfitters leaves me with panic attacks). This is how URBN's brand of stores have become successful- because they sell a particular feeling with their products, and because people actually enjoy spending time in their stores. In recent years, this phenomenon has become more commonplace (even Wal-Mart is changing its store layout and design). URBN has been practiced this from the company's inception and has obviously reaped the benefits.


Although I've discovered URBN's sneaky branding tricks,  you can be certain I'll be drooling over their Fall 2011 catalog and budgeting appropriately for fall must-haves from their stock. Because honestly, I'm willing to pay the extra money for the experience. I want to be mesmerized by the store installations made out of clothespins and I want to feel like a character out of an 18th-century novel. And that is successful branding.


What other stores compel you to come in and shop? Can this same feeling be translated to online stores? How does this affect the American concept of malls? Are there any stores that should in fact avoid this branding tactic?

photos courtesy of URBN, Terrain, and ohhellofriend