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Anthropologie is a bright spot in the portfolio of its parent company URBN. This year, it delivered its 19th consecutive quarter of comparable sales growth and an 8% increase in total revenue.
Tricia Smith, the global CEO of Anthropologie Group, has been at the helm as the company has spun off successful brands into standalone brands and accelerated Anthropologie’s store expansion to the fastest rate in the brand’s history. Anthropologie will have 253 stores by the end of its fiscal year in January.
“Everything we do comes from the team,” Smith said. “Our team is very good at listening to what our customers want, and you see that reflected in our assortment and what we’re doing with our owned brands.”
Anthropologie’s own brands represent the majority of its sales, with apparel making up around 70% of sales. One brand, Maeve, has been successful enough to inspire the company to spin it off into a standalone business. The first Maeve store opened in North Carolina this fall, and more are planned in other markets around the country.
Anthropologie’s other businesses, including Anthropologie Home, Anthropologie Weddings and Terrain, have been similarly successful. Smith said on URBN’s third-quarter earnings call in November that Anthro Weddings “significantly outpaced total brand comp,” while Anthropologie Home saw growth driven by strength in the full-price segment.
Smith said the Maeve spin-off and store opening was a test.
“The sales at Maeve so far are really exceeding our expectations,” Smith said. “One thing we wanted to learn was: Could a standalone store lift the entire market? We already have two Anthropologie stores in North Carolina. But the opening of the Maeve store, if you look at online sales, lifts the entire region for all our brands.”
Smith said her next priority for Anthropologie is to continue nurturing its own brands, hopefully getting others to the same stage as Maeve. Beyond that, physical stores will continue to play a major role in Anthropologie’s growth strategy.
“It’s all about the retail footprint now,” Smith said. “We’re proud of having a multigenerational customer, so as we launch new brands and open new stores, we’re trying to keep the customer at the center of everything we do.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect Anthropologie’s store count.
