Don’t Mess With the Little Folk

Urban Outfitters operates a couple hundred retail outlets worldwide offering a range of  kitcehy goods from housewares to shoes to clothing and more, under six brand names. Their appeal is to teens and twenty-somethings striving to be “Hip,” whatever that means these days. It is a remarkable success story launched by Richard Hayne (now worth $1.8 billion) in 1970 with a single store on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.

According to a piece in the Huffington Post and other sources, Urban Outfitters is caught up in an intellectual property dustup with Stevie Koerner, a Chicago based designer selling her jewelry online. She has a line of handmade silver pendants, many in the shape of some of the 50 states, a few countries and several continents. They all have a heart cut out; she calls these her “World/United States of Love” line.

So one day a design similar to her New York State pendant shows up in an Urban Outfitters’ store. Not cool, thinks Stevie, but not much I can do about it. She tweets a complaint with her sad tale and soon a “Boycott Urban Outfitters” movement begins. Before long Twitter is trending heavy with the message and it goes viral worldwide. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Urban Outfitters pulled their version from the stores tout de suite.

This is not the first instance of a ripoff design showing up in Urban Outfitters’ stores. A year ago The Brooklyn Paper and The Village Voice ran stories about similar design ripoffs involving Urban Outfitters. The issue has not escaped Urban Outfitters; reportedly they are now asking suppliers if their designs have been “inspired” by others. Given Ms. Koerner’s recent experience that message hasn’t done much to cure the problem. Perhaps a plainspoken, “If we find that you ripped this design off from someone, we will make you eat it and you will never sell us another dime’s worth of anything” might do the trick.

Getting the ripoff of Ms. Koerner’s design out of Urban Outfitters is apparently just the beginning of a reversal in her fortune. A note on her website, www.IMakeShinyThings.com tells it all: “Thank you SO much for the support everyone! Orders will take a bit longer due to the overwhelming response to Urban Outfitters! Please give me 3-4 weeks to create and ship your items! Xo.” Seems that taking on the giant retailer has raised her profile and business is booming. Good for her!

In Tom Friedman’s Flat World the lesson for Urban Outfitters and others in a similar position –is– don’t mess with the little folk; they can organize an army of supporters and even make billionaires back down. The lesson for the little folk like Stevie Koerner –is– don’t take it lying down; use Twitter and all the social media to go after anyone who has wronged you. The message for the rest of us –is– it is a new day, a brighter, nicer, kinder, more ethical day.