American fashion retailer Urban Outfitters has, reportedly, announced that it is all set to exit China in few weeks.
The retailer has said that it will end trading in China when its closes its Alibaba platform Tmall store on 12 September – removing all its online products.
However, the retailer also said that its customer service will continue to function until 24 September 2021. It also added the closure of stores would be temporary.
The decision to exit China is, reportedly, seen as a part of retailer’s new global business strategy.
Last week, Urban Outfitters’ CEO had warned of trade disruptions and delays in shipping of products from Asia to Europe and the US. The retailer also said that it would ship goods via air freight, which was reliable yet very costly.
It’s been tough for fashion brands to trade in China lately. Fashion bigwigs like Topshop, Old Navy, C&A and Asos have already exited China and Mango has announced a moratorium on opening new stores. In this scenario, Urban Outfitters’ decision doesn’t come as a surprise.
Urban Outfitters brand is known for women’s and men’s fashion apparels, footwear and beauty products, besides others. It generated US $ 3.9 billion in 2019.
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