Urban Outfitters Unveils New Store Concept Evolving With How Gen Z Shops Today
Press Release
October 31, 2025
UO rolls out a city-by-city format pairing a flexible new design with market attuned merchandising strategies.
Urban Outfitters has launched a new store concept and retail environment, introducing a brighter, more modern, and flexible design. Following its debut in Houston, TX, and opening in Glendale, CA, the format brings UO’s customer-first philosophy to life through market curated assortments, refreshed design, and an emphasis on Gen Z’s favorite styles and brands. By considering local shopping behaviors and community nuances, each store delivers an experience that feels both relevant and distinctly UO.
“Our goal is to be the go-to brand and destination for the categories and brands that define our customer’s style, and a source of inspiration through our creativity,” said Shea Jensen, President of Urban Outfitters. “This new format gives us the freedom to shape our stores around our customers, their lifestyle, and the moments that matter most to them.”
The strategy also extends to where Urban Outfitters shows up. With Gen Z driving renewed foot traffic to malls as spaces for discovery and connection, UO continues to balance street-level locations like Houston with key mall footprints, including Glendale. Insights from UO Insiders, the brand’s community of highly engaged Gen Z shoppers, underscore this approach— revealing that 72% of Gen Z consumers are shopping in malls, the most popular in-person shopping destination among the demographic.
Merchandising and floorplans are guided by customer insight and market preferences, while upholding UO’s reputation as a destination for discovery. In Houston, the assortment leans into dresses, denim, and an accessories edit tapping into Gen Z’s love of personalization with handbags, scarves, charms, bangles, and more. In Glendale, a refreshed men’s strategy takes center stage, with an expanded men’s assortment of signature graphic tees, hoodies, pants, wardrobe essentials and curated brands, along with improved wayfinding and signage.
“Our approach to men’s is about delivering a complete, modern wardrobe that balances trend essentials with the best of brands,” said Bijon Javadzadeh, General Manager of Merchandising at Urban Outfitters. “We’re evolving with our customer to offer pieces inspired by the culture, communities and moments shaping their style.”
Additional key highlights include:
- Beauty continues to grow as a key differentiator across all markets, presented through increased assortment and elevated moments throughout the store.
- Increased footprints of best-selling UO brands, including BDG denim, OFU (Out from Under) and Standard Cloth, deliver outfitting essentials.
- New modular and responsive fixtures scale to category needs and allow the store to quickly evolve its merchandising with trends and seasonal shifts.
- Fitting rooms feature a brighter, more spacious design for an enhanced customer experience.
- Warm materials, rich textures, and increased visual styling throughout the spaces create a more immersive and tailored shopping environment.
Urban Outfitters’ new store experience will expand to three stores by the end of 2025, with an additional seven locations across the United States in 2026.
About Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters is a global lifestyle brand dedicated to fueling the next generation’s individuality through a unique blend of product, creativity, music, and youth culture. Founded in 1970 in a small space across from the University of Pennsylvania, Urban Outfitters now operates over 200 stores across the United States, Canada, and Europe, alongside a dynamic digital presence. Empowering bold self-expression, Urban Outfitters leads with its distinctive designs and curated selection of women’s, men’s, accessories, and home products, and best-in-class brand partnerships. For more information, visit Urban Outfitters at www.urbanoutfitters.com.
