Urban Outfitters (URBN) CEO Richard Hayne does not have comforting words for the retail industry.
“Our industry, not unlike the housing industry, saw too much square footage capacity added in the 1990s and early 2000s,” Hayne said on the company’s earnings conference call on Tuesday.
“Thousands of new doors opened and rents soared. This created a bubble, and like housing, that bubble has now burst. We are seeing the results, doors shuttering and rents retreating. This trend will continue for the foreseeable future, and may even accelerate.” (Emphasis added.)
Last week, we wrote that this year would be a “tipping point” for the retail industry as analysts at S&P said bankruptcies seem likely to increase among apparel retailers in 2017.