Urban Celebrity, an online streetwear retailer, contacted their customers via email today to inform them that they will be closing on the 30th of April 2020. The email confirmed that UC Clothing LTD Directors had blamed the decline of the retail sector, and that a final closing sale was taking place.
They also indicated that gift cards will cease to be valid after this date but would accept refunds as per distance selling regulations.
Regular Urban Celebrity shoppers were not surprised by the loss of their favorite brands. The site had fewer brands than before, and the major clothing brands were no more available. What went wrong for Urban Celebrity’s urban wear leader? To find out, we asked Chloe Safilo, a writer.
The Urban Celebrity website redirects now to JD Sports.
Urban Celebrities: Who Are They?
Urban Celebrity is the trade name for UC Clothing LTD, based in Kendall (Cumbbria). What makes the Lake District so popular for fast fashion? 11 Degrees were also born there. More on this later.
Andrew Hayton founded Urban Celeb in 2010 as an online clothing retailer. They stock only Reem Boutique. They expanded their range to include streetwear brands such as Pearly King, Eleven Paris, AMH and Eleven Paris in 2011. Later, they added bigger brands like Judas Sinned and Good for Nothing, Dead Legacy, and Friend or Faux.
It was 2013 that Sik Silk arrived and changed the urbanwear landscape for urbancelebrities and a whole new generation. Gary Beadle, Geordie Shore’s fashion director for Scarbrough, helped make Scarbrough a mainstream brand. Andy Hayton and Gaz Beadle joined forces to start 11 Degrees in early 2014.
The stocking of the most popular urban brands must have increased traffic to the website and sales. It is therefore not surprising that Urban Celebrity Clothing LTD was liquidated in 2015, owing large amounts to HRMC and the brands they stocked.
Steve Kitchen, who was managing their Digital Marketing, joined Andrew. UC Clothing LTD took over the background and the site continued as before. Urban Celebrity was a place that every Fashion Brand would want to be. Its sales were unsurpassed by any other competitors in the sector.
Urban Celeb was a hot brand, with every streetwear fan wanting to purchase. It was obvious that Urban Celeb would open a bricks-and-mortar store. Their flagship store in Kendal, rented from JD Sports in 2016, was open and they were extremely healthy.
Urban Celebrity: What happened?
The big question now is: What went wrong with Urban Celebrity Clothing? JD Sports was not pleased with the unpaid shop rent and charged the company. Directors were also appointed to the board. They were also the first to stock the Couture Club, which was also owned by JD Sports.
The cracks were evident before then, and one could see a decline in urban fashion. Urban Celebrity, as in the past was believed to owe the brands a lot. Urban’s firm hold on the market was starting to weaken, so Sik Silk as well as 11 Degrees took Urban’s brand off Urban.
Streetwear was saturated with imitations of top labels hoping to replicate their success. The consumer base became tired of seeing the same logo-brands with identical designs. This is what I believe contributed to its demise.
JD Sports seemed to be happy to let each brand go over the past year, rather than keeping it in business. They would prefer it to cease trading than be revived by a competitor so they are covering current debts. They are closing down trading, but they will likely continue to monitor the urban fashion scene.
Urban Celebrities Sale: The Closing Down
Now is the final Urban celebrity sale. This will be the last chance to grab a streetwear bargain. Consumers who made Urban celebrity Black Friday their first stop for huge savings on big streetwear brands will be disappointed.
