2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Fiscal Year-End

The Company operates on a fiscal year ending January 31 of each year. All references to fiscal years of the Company refer to the fiscal years ended on January 31 in those years. For example, the Company's fiscal 2012 ended on January 31, 2012.

Principles of Consolidation

The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of Urban Outfitters, Inc. and all of its subsidiaries. All inter-company transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of net sales and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents are defined as cash and short-term highly liquid investments with maturities of less than three months at the time of purchase. These short-term highly liquid investments are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. As of January 31, 2012 and 2011, cash and cash equivalents included cash on hand, cash in banks and money market accounts.

Marketable Securities

All of the Company's marketable securities as of January 31, 2012 and 2011, are classified as available-for-sale and are carried at fair value, which approximates amortized cost. Interest on these securities, as well as the amortization of discounts and premiums, is included in interest income in the Consolidated Statements of Income. Unrealized gains and losses on these securities are considered temporary and therefore are excluded from earnings and are reported in accumulated other comprehensive loss in shareholders' equity until realized. Other than temporary impairment losses related to credit losses are considered to be realized losses. When available-for-sale securities are sold, the cost of the securities is specifically identified and is used to determine the realized gain or loss. Securities classified as current have maturity dates of less than one year from the balance sheet date. Securities classified as non-current have maturity dates greater than one year from the balance sheet date. Available for sale securities, such as Auction Rate Securities ("ARS") that fail at auction and do not liquidate in the normal course, are classified as non-current assets.

The Company's ARS represent interests in municipal and student loan related collateralized debt obligations, all of which are rated 'A" or better and are guaranteed by either government agencies and/or insured by private insurance agencies up to 97% or greater of par value. The Company's ARS had a fair value of $20.2 million as of January 31, 2012 and $29.5 million as of January 31, 2011. As of and subsequent to the end of the current fiscal year, all of the ARS held by the Company failed to liquidate at auction due to a lack of market demand. Liquidity for these ARS was historically provided by an auction process that resets the applicable interest rate at pre-determined intervals, usually 7, 28, 35 or 90 days. The principal associated with these failed auctions will not be available until a successful auction occurs, the bond is called by the issuer, a buyer is found from outside the auction process, or the debt obligation reaches its maturity. Based on review of credit quality, collateralization, final stated maturity, estimates of the probability of being called or becoming illiquid prior to final maturity, redemptions of similar ARS, previous market activity for same investment security, impact due to extended periods of maximum auction rates and valuation models, the Company has recorded $2.8 million and $3.8 million of temporary impairment on its ARS as of January 31, 2012 and January 31, 2011, respectively. To date the Company has collected all interest receivable on outstanding ARS when due and has not been informed by the issuers that accrued interest payments are currently at risk. The Company does not have the intent to sell the underlying securities prior to their recovery and the Company believes it is not likely that it will be required to sell the underlying securities prior to their anticipated recovery of full amortized cost. As a result of the current illiquidity, the Company has classified all ARS as non-current assets under marketable securities. The Company continues to monitor the market for ARS and consider the impact, if any, on the fair value of its investments.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable primarily consists of amounts due from our wholesale customers as well as credit card receivables outstanding with third-party credit card vendors. The activity of the allowance for doubtful accounts for the years ended January 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was as follows:


	Balance at beginning of year		Additions		Deductions			Balance at end of year
Year ended January 31, 2012	$	1,015		3,920		(3,321	)	$	1,614
Year ended January 31, 2011	$	1,284		2,397		(2,666	)	$	1,015
Year ended January 31, 2010	$	1,229		1,791		(1,736	)	$	1,284

Inventories

Inventories, which consist primarily of general consumer merchandise held for sale, are valued at the lower of cost or market. Cost is determined on the first-in, first-out method and includes the cost of merchandise and import related costs, including freight, import taxes and agent commissions. A periodic review of inventory is performed in order to determine if inventory is properly stated at the lower of cost or market. Factors related to current inventories such as future expected consumer demand and fashion trends, current aging, current and anticipated retail markdowns or wholesale discounts, and class or type of inventory are analyzed to determine estimated net realizable value. Criteria utilized by the Company to quantify aging trends include factors such as average selling cycle and seasonality of merchandise, the historical rate at which merchandise has sold below cost during the average selling cycle, and the value and nature of merchandise currently priced below original cost. A provision is recorded to reduce the cost of inventories to the estimated net realizable values, if appropriate. The majority of inventory at January 31, 2012 and 2011 consisted of finished goods. Unfinished goods and work-in-process were not material to the overall net inventory value.

Adjustments to reserves related to the net realizable value of inventories are primarily based on the market value of the Company's physical inventories, cycle counts and recent historical trends. The Company's physical inventories for fiscal 2012 were performed as of June 2011 and January 2012. The Company's estimates generally have been accurate and its reserve methods have been applied on a consistent basis. The Company expects the amount of its reserves and related inventories to increase over time as it expands its store base and increases direct-to-consumer sales.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost and primarily consist of store related leasehold improvements, buildings and furniture and fixtures. Depreciation is typically computed using the straight-line method over five years for furniture and fixtures, the lesser of the lease term or useful life for leasehold improvements, three to ten years for other operating equipment and 39 years for buildings. Major renovations or improvements that extend the service lives of our assets are capitalized over the extension period or life of the improvement, whichever is less.

The Company reviews long-lived assets for possible impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount may not be recoverable. This determination includes evaluation of factors such as future asset utilization and future net undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the assets. Management believes there has been no material impairment of the Company's long-lived assets as of January 31, 2012.

Deferred Rent

Rent expense from leases is recorded on a straight-line basis over the lease period. The net excess of rent expense over the actual cash paid is recorded as deferred rent. In addition, certain store leases provide for contingent rentals when sales exceed specified break-point levels that are weighted based upon historical cyclicality. For leases where achievement of these levels is considered probable based on cumulative lease year revenue versus the established breakpoint at any given point in time, the Company accrues a contingent rent liability and a corresponding rent expense.

Operating Leases

The Company leases its retail stores under operating leases. Many of the lease agreements contain rent holidays, rent escalation clauses and contingent rent provisions or some combination of these items.

The Company recognizes rent expense on a straight-line basis over the lease period commencing on the date that the premise is available from the landlord. The lease period includes the construction period required to make the leased space suitable for operating during which time the Company is not permitted to occupy the space. For purposes of calculating straight-line rent expense, the commencement date of the lease term reflects the date the Company takes possession of the building for initial construction and setup.

The Company classifies tenant improvement allowances in its consolidated financial statements under deferred rent and amortizes them on a straight-line basis over the related lease period. Tenant improvement allowance activity is presented as part of cash flows from operating activities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue is recognized at the point-of-sale for retail store sales or when merchandise is shipped to customers for wholesale and direct-to-consumer sales, net of estimated customer returns. Revenue is recognized at the completion of a job or service for landscape sales. Revenue is presented on a net basis and does not include any tax assessed by a governmental or municipal authority. Payment for merchandise at stores and through the Company's direct-to-consumer channel is tendered by cash, check, credit card, debit card or gift card. Therefore, the Company's need to collect outstanding accounts receivable for its retail and direct-to-consumer channel is negligible and mainly results from returned checks or unauthorized credit card transactions. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for its wholesale and landscape service accounts receivable, which management reviews on a regular basis and believes is sufficient to cover potential credit losses and billing adjustments. Deposits for custom orders are recorded as a liability and recognized as a sale upon delivery of the merchandise to the customer. These custom orders, typically for upholstered furniture, are not material. Deposits for landscape services are recorded as a liability and recognized as a sale upon completion of service. Landscape services and related deposits are not material.

The Company accounts for a gift card transaction by recording a liability at the time the gift card is issued to the customer in exchange for consideration from the customer. A liability is established and remains on the Company's books until the card is redeemed by the customer, at which time the Company records the redemption of the card for merchandise as a sale or when it is determined the likelihood of redemption is remote, based on historical redemption patterns. Revenues attributable to gift card liabilities relieved after the likelihood of redemption becomes remote are included in sales and are not material. The Company's gift cards do not expire.

Sales Return Reserve

The Company records a reserve for estimated product returns where the sale has occurred during the period reported, but the return is likely to occur subsequent to the period reported and may otherwise be considered in-transit. The reserve for estimated in-transit product returns is based on the Company's most recent historical return trends. If the actual return rate or experience is materially higher than the Company's estimate, additional sales returns would be recorded in the future. The activity of the sales returns reserve for the years ended January 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was as follows:


	Balance at beginning of year		Additions		Deductions			Balance at end of year
Year ended January 31, 2012	$	11,367		41,034		(41,434	)	$	10,967
Year ended January 31, 2011	$	9,912		41,692		(40,237	)	$	11,367
Year ended January 31, 2010	$	7,547		33,889		(31,524	)	$	9,912

Cost of Sales, Including Certain Buying, Distribution and Occupancy Costs

Cost of sales, including certain buying, distribution and occupancy costs includes the following: the cost of merchandise; merchandise markdowns; obsolescence and shrink provisions; store occupancy costs including rent and depreciation; customer shipping costs for direct-to-consumer orders; in-bound and outbound freight; U.S. Customs related taxes and duties; inventory acquisition and purchasing costs; warehousing and handling costs and other inventory acquisition related costs.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative expenses includes expenses such as; direct selling and selling supervisory expenses; marketing expenses; various corporate expenses such as information systems, finance, loss prevention, talent acquisition, and executive management expenses and other associated general expenses.

Shipping and Handling Fees and Costs

The Company includes shipping and handling revenues in net sales and shipping and handling costs in cost of sales. The Company's shipping and handling revenues consist of amounts billed to customers for shipping and handling merchandise. Shipping and handling costs include shipping supplies, related labor costs and third-party shipping costs.

Advertising

The Company expenses the costs of advertising when the advertising occurs, except for direct-to-consumer advertising, which is capitalized and amortized over its expected period of future benefit. Advertising costs primarily relate to our direct-to-consumer marketing expenses which are comprised of web marketing, catalog printing, paper, postage and other costs related to production of photographic images used in our catalogs and on our websites. The catalog printing, paper, postage and other costs are amortized over the period in which the customer responds to the marketing material determined based on historical customer response trends to a similar season's advertisement. Amortization rates are reviewed on a regular basis during the fiscal year and may be adjusted if the predicted customer response appears materially different than the historical response rate. The Company has the ability to measure the response rate to direct marketing early in the course of the advertisement based on its customers' reference to a specific catalog or by product placed and sold. The average amortization period for a catalog and related items are typically three months. If there is no expected future benefit, the cost of advertising is expensed when incurred. Advertising costs reported as prepaid expenses were $3,586 and $3,323 as of January 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Advertising expenses were $71,684, $58,336 and $46,827 for fiscal 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Start-up Costs

The Company expenses all start-up and organization costs as incurred, including travel, training, recruiting, salaries and other operating costs.

Website Development Costs

The Company capitalizes applicable costs incurred during the application and infrastructure development stage and expenses costs incurred during the planning and operating stage. During fiscal 2012, 2011 and 2010, the Company did not capitalize any internal-use software development costs because substantially all costs were incurred during the planning and operating stages, and costs incurred during the application and infrastructure development stage were not material.

Income Taxes

The Company utilizes a balance sheet approach to provide for income taxes. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of net operating loss carryforwards and temporary differences between the carrying amounts and the tax bases of assets and liabilities. The Company files a consolidated United States federal income tax return (see Note 8 for a further discussion of income taxes).

Net Income Per Common Share

Basic net income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net income per common share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares and common share equivalents outstanding. Common share equivalents include the effect of stock options, stock appreciation rights ("SAR's"), restricted stock units ("RSU's") and performance share units ("PSU's").

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive income is comprised of two subsets—net income and accumulated other comprehensive loss. Amounts included in accumulated other comprehensive loss relate to foreign currency translation adjustments and unrealized gains or losses on marketable securities. The foreign currency translation adjustments are not adjusted for income taxes because these adjustments relate to non-U.S. subsidiaries for which foreign earnings have been designated as permanently reinvested. Accumulated other comprehensive loss consisted of foreign currency translation losses of $10,037 and $7,752 as of January 31, 2012 and January 31, 2011, respectively and unrealized losses, net of tax, on marketable securities of $1,475 and $2,510 as of January 31, 2012 and January 31, 2011, respectively. Gross realized gains and losses are included in other income in the Consolidated Statements of Income and were not material to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements for all three years presented.

Foreign Currency Translation

The financial statements of the Company's foreign operations are translated into U.S. dollars. Assets and liabilities are translated at current exchange rates as of the balance sheet date, equity accounts at historical exchange rates, while revenue and expense accounts are translated at the average rates in effect during the year. Translation adjustments are not included in determining net income, but are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss within shareholders' equity. As of January 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, foreign currency translation adjustments resulted in accumulated losses of $10,037 and $7,752, respectively.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and accounts receivable. The Company manages the credit risk associated with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities by investing in high-quality securities held with reputable trustees and, by policy, limiting the amount of credit exposure to any one issuer or issue, as well as providing limitations on investment maturities. The Company's investment policy requires that the majority of its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities are invested in corporate and municipal bonds rated "A" or better and federally insured or guaranteed investment vehicles such as federal government agencies, irrevocable pre-refunded municipal bonds and United States treasury bills. Receivables from third-party credit cards are processed by financial institutions, which are monitored for financial stability. The Company periodically evaluates the financial condition of its wholesale segment customers. The Company's allowance for doubtful accounts reflects current market conditions and management's assessment regarding the collectability of its accounts receivable. The Company maintains cash accounts that, at times, may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses from maintaining cash accounts in excess of such limits. Management believes that it is not exposed to any significant risks related to its cash accounts.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In January 2010, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an accounting standards update that amended fair value measurements and disclosures and aimed to improve the transparency of financial reporting of assets and liabilities measured at fair value. The update required new disclosures for transfers in and out of Level 1 and Level 2 and the basis for such transfers. Also required are disclosures for activity in Level 3, including purchase, sale, issuance and settlement information. Lastly, it clarified guidance regarding disaggregation and disclosure of information about valuation techniques and inputs used to measure fair value for both recurring and non-recurring fair value measurements in Level 2 and Level 3 categories. The Company adopted the provisions of this accounting standards update effective February 1, 2010, except for the requirement to disclose purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements related to Level 3 measurements, which we adopted February 1, 2011. This adoption had no impact on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

In May 2011, the FASB issued an additional update that amended fair value measurements and disclosures. This amendment provides that the inputs and measures used to value assets that fall within Level 3 of the valuation hierarchy be quantitatively presented. Application is required prospectively for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company is required to adopt the provisions of this update in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Other than the change in presentation, this accounting standards update will not have an impact on the Company's financial position and results of operations.

In June 2011, the FASB issued an accounting standards update that requires an increase in the prominence of other comprehensive income and its components within the financial statements. The update provides entities the option to present the components of net income and other comprehensive income in either one or two consecutive financial statements. It also eliminates the option to present other comprehensive income in the statements of shareholders' equity. Application is to be applied retrospectively and is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company is required to adopt the provisions of this update in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Other than the change in presentation, this accounting standards update will not have an impact on the Company's financial position and results of operations.