NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Urban Outfitters has said goodbye just over a decade after opening in the heart of downtown Norfolk’s Granby Street.
The Philadelphia-based retailer that specializes in trendy clothing and accessories for teens and younger adults closed on December 31. All of the merchandise has been removed from the three-story 271 Granby Street location.
The store opened back in 2012 with plenty of buzz from the public and city leaders, who told the Virginian-Pilot at the time they thought it was the biggest commercial enterprise to come downtown since the MacArthur Center opened in 1999, and would spur other economic development.
The store was deemed a success, and Granby Street in the decade since has brought in many new businesses, but recent inflation has hurt many retailers’ sales. Urban Outfitters CEO Richard Hayne revealed in a November 2022 earnings call that he believed the sales slip was in part self-inflicted, saying that the company raised prices “more than we should have.”
And brick and mortar retailers in general have struggled with the rise in online shopping. Nearby MacArthur Center has seen many store closures and is currently going through foreclosure proceedings.
So what’s next for the space? WAVY reached out to Bobby Wright with The Wright Company, the real estate firm that owns the property, but did not hear back at the time of publishing. Wright also owns the Granby Theater, The Gym Downtown and the Percolator spaces on Granby Street.
Urban Outfitters’ departure comes on the heels of news that Brick Anchor Brew-House, another popular Granby Street location, is closing in early February. It’s unclear who will move into that space as well.
Norfolk has come under scrutiny in recent months over its handling of downtown businesses, after city leaders shut down several nightclubs, most of them Black-owned, citing the threat of possible violence after multiple high-profile shootings in the Granby Street area.
Business owners forced to close have called for more transparency and consistency in the permitting process, and several said they believed they were doing everything right before being shut down. One business, Legacy Lounge, dropped its appeal to reopen last month.
