.U O.  MAKING COOL EASY 
       BUT AT WHAT COST?

U O continues to grow despite a weak economy and a stagnant fashion industry.  How do they do it?  A very carefully crafted image.

-Image- 
	Who started the store- Dick Hayne, a 60s longhaired radical who protested the Vietnam war, the Nixon administration, and the big business military-industrial complex.  He volunteered for VISTA, the domestic service program, to fulfill his draft obligation.  He smoked marijuana and rocked out to Bobby Dylan.
Who works at the store-U O hires exclusively 18-30 year olds to represent their image in retail.  Image is everything.  No emphasis on customer service.
Who shops at the store-Known widely as the brand of choice for independent, college bound, urban-minded young adults.

What you may not know

-Differentation-
	U O emerges as a leader in competitive fashion industry.  However, the company does not succeed in differentiating its product on quality or even style.  Dick Hayne and his lackeys have made consumers believe that shopping at UO is cooler than shopping anywhere else.
	
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-Prices-
	Customers have become emotionally attached to the coolness that is wearing UO gear.  Although the style and quality of the merchandise is substitutable, the image is not.  The demand becomes more and more inelastic.  UO raises prices with no decrease in sales.
This leads to another cyclical phenomenon Ill call FASHION DEATH.  As prices increase, people believe the product to be more exclusive and more fashionable.  The image of UO is once again enlarged leading to further artificial differentiation.

-Profits-
	37% of net sales are net profit.  Sales have been growing at an average of 20% over the last five years.  Gap has averaged just under 5% growth over the same time span.  But UO has no intention of becoming like the gap.  UO documents call for aggressive yet controlled growth.  
UO operates 61 stores compared to the Gaps 4100.  The company purposely limits the number of stores to maintain an image.  Large and accessible contradicts hip and exclusive.  Very limited advertising for the very same reason.  So instead of going into reinvestment, the money goes into financing Rick Santorums PACs.