Urban Outfitters Inc. URBN, -1.84% said Tuesday that holiday season sales for the two-month period ending Dec. 31, 2021 rose 14.6% versus the same period in 2019. Comparable retail sales rose 47% at Free People, 15% at Anthropologie, and 3% at the namesake Urban Outfitters chain. Wholesale net sales fell 18%, primarily due to Free People discounting, the company said. Urban Outfitters now thinks margins could take a hit from “higher than anticipated inbound transportation costs.” For the 11 months ending Dec. 31, 2021, total net sales rose 14.4%. Urban Outfitters stock slipped 3.5% in Tuesday premarket trading. The stock is down 1.8% over the last 12 months while the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.14% has gained nearly 23%.
