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Hollister Co.
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Hollister Co., HCO, or simply Hollister, is an American lifestyle brand from parent brand and company Abercrombie & Fitch Co. inspired by the Southern California surfing lifestyle. Goods are available in-store and at hollisterco.com. A study by US Bancorp Piper Jaffray reveals that the brand ranks as the 2nd most preferred teens clothing brand in 2008.
ister Co. opened its first store in July 2000 at the Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio.
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Encyclopedia
Hollister Co., HCO, or simply Hollister, is an American lifestyle brand from parent brand and company Abercrombie & Fitch Co. inspired by the Southern California surfing lifestyle. Goods are available in-store and at hollisterco.com. A study by US Bancorp Piper Jaffray reveals that the brand ranks as the 2nd most preferred teens clothing brand in 2008.
History
Opening and effect
Hollister Co. opened its first store in July 2000 at the Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio. The concept was formulated around a fictional background story created by Mike Jeffries to provide more of an atmosphere for the HCO shopper. The fictional story states Hollister was founded by J.M. Hollister in 1922 as a pacific merchant shop in SoCal. All of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s spin-off brands have an accompanying fictional background (including RUEHL No.925 and Gilly Hicks). HCO's rapid success led Abercrombie & Fitch Co. to notice that the HCO brand was eating into the revenue of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand, referred to as a cannibalism effect. In order to properly distinguish A&F from HCO, higher-grade materials and construction were introduced strictly in the production of A&F clothing and goods, thus raising the prices of the latter.
A&F Vs. AE through Club Cali
Ever since its debut, Hollister Co.'s main competition has been against clothing brands American Eagle Outfitters (AE) and Aéropostale due to similarities in terms of attire and target consumers.
In May 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. officials sent a letter to AE accusing the company of using the number "22" on baseball caps and graphic T-shirts to confuse consumers into thinking they were purchasing HCO products. The lawsuit charged AE with trademark infringement and unfair competition, common law trade dress infringement, and deceptive trade practices. A&F Co. asked the court to cease AE's use of the number, and award compensatory and punitive damages.
By March 24, 2006, Hollister Co. discontinued its former rewards program, "Club Cali". The program involved a system wherein one point was awarded for every dollar spent, with points able to be traded for merchandise. The program also involved a system of cards, beginning with the "Red Card" at the $0 USD through $500 USD level. Once a cardholder purchased beyond $500 USD of HCO merchandise, the card became a "Gold Card", and once having purchased beyond $1,000 USD the card became "Platinum".
From international expansion to today
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. marked its expansion into Canada mid-January 2006: two Abercrombie & Fitch stores and two Hollister Co. stores opened, one of each pair at the Toronto Eaton Centre and the other at Sherway Gardens, both shopping malls located in Toronto, Ontario. The stores' openings were originally scheduled for the end of 2005, however construction and planning issues delayed this to early 2006. As of now, locations include: Sherway Gardens, Toronto Eaton Centre, the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta and Upper Canada Mall, in Newmarket, Ontario. The 5th Hollister Co. store opened at Fairview Mall in Toronto, Ontario. Hollister has also opened a store at Pacific Centre in Vancouver, BC as of January 29, 2009.
Starting summer 2007, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. spent an approximate amount of $10 million USD to install video walls into Hollister Co. stores nationwide. The walls play live-feed from Surf City Huntington Beach, California to provide customers with a flavor of the SoCal surf atmosphere HCO promotes.
By October 2, 2007, 100 select Hollister Co. stores began to promote Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s fifth brand Gilly Hicks: Sydney prior to the latter's debut in January 2008. Advertising was achieved through a variety of body care items including body sprays, deodorant, soaps, lotions, and lip balms called Sessions.
On October 25, 2008, Hollister Co. opened its first store outside of USA and Canada in Brent Cross, London, UK.
In December 2008 Hollister Co. opened its second store in the UK in Westfield Londonand a third store in Bluewater, Kent< UK.
HCO Today
Branding and marketing
Hollister Co. pursues the technique of "walking self-marketing", where in wearing an item of clothing from HCO results in direct advertising. This is notably achieved through the large embroidery or screenprint of the brand's name, initials, fictional date of establishment and the flying seagull logo on the vast majority of their merchandise.
The brand's marketing images are sepia toned and modified in order to look somewhat faded; this is reminiscent of the grayscale marketing images used by the Abercrombie & Fitch brand. The sepia toned images provide HCO's campaigns with a vintage feel that is adequate to their fictional date of establishment, and the lifestyle promoted by the brand.
Clothing and goods
To maintain the SoCal theme, stores and merchandise are categorized within the divisions named "Dudes" (men) and "Bettys" (women). Merchandise of which offers Hollister includes but is not limited to "applique" and "heritage" T-shirts, Polos, Henleys, Knits, Shirts, Fleece, Outerwear, regular or destroyed low-rise Jeans, Flip Flops, Fragrances and so on. Hollister is the only brand from Abercrombie & Fitch to offer body care products such as deodorants, antiperspirants, and body washes for both sexes. Some of the beauty products offered for the girls are body washes, mists, lotions, and an assortment of lip glosses, lip shines and lip balms. All of these are part of the sessions line.
Goods are given names from SoCal beaches, something which Gilly Hicks does similarly with Australian beaches. The HCO flying sea gull is also prominently stamped and embroidered onto every product. The labels proclaim Hollister Co. as "pacific merchants" established in 1922.
A&F Corporate keeps HCO price points affordable to its targeted consumers: High-schoolers. Outerwear at its highest is at US$160.00, and jeans at their highest at US$70. However, in recent years, Hollister has been raising their prices to rival that of their sister store, Abercrombie and Fitch. Many of their items are almost equal in value to that of Abercrombie, with items having a difference of 20 dollars.
Fragrances
Nearly every year, Hollister releases a new fragrance for both dudes and bettys. In 2001, Hollister Co. was released. It was a unisex fragrance. In 2004, Drift was released for dudes, and August was released for bettys. Hollister Co, Drift, and August are currently discontinued. In 2005, Jake was released for dudes, and Malaia was released for bettys. In 2006, HCO22 was released for dudes, and Ryder was released for bettys. In 2007, SoCal cologne was released for dudes, and SoCal perfume was released for bettys. SoCal cologne is the current Hollister roomspray. In 2008, California cologne was released for dudes, and California perfume was released for bettys. The prices for the fragrances are:
- Jake & Malaia: 1 oz $30/ 1.7 oz $38
- HCO22 & Ryder: 1.7 0z $30
- SoCal: 1.7 oz $38/ 2.5 oz $50
- California: 1.7 oz $38/ 2.5 oz $50
Stores
Design
Hollister Co. recreates the SoCal surf atmosphere through the interior and exterior design of their stores. The stores resemble beach shacks, complete with shuttered windows, light and dark brown walls and teal boardwalks on the exterior. The stores' interior is dimly lit with spotlights above the merchandise, and divided into on one side the 'Dudes' section for boys and on the other, the 'Bettys' section for girls. HCO stores are currently scented with the signature "SO CAL" fragrance. They spray room spray scented like their popular "SO CAL" cologne directly on the clothes and mannequins. The store is scented every 60 minutes and is mandated by corporate policy. The merchandise itself is displayed on built-in shelves and dark wooden tables, cots, and benches. In the center of the store is a lounge area with chairs on which blankets are folded, and a dozen surf or general popular culture magazines are piled beside them along with potted palm trees. Several surfboards with Hollister branding are placed throughout the entire store as props. At the "cash wrap," or register area, CDs and magazines are made available for purchase.
Originally, the store design included a resident live Maine Coon cat, named Fletcher, and a Greenwing Macaw named Riley. Animal rights activists protested the inappropriate use of live animals in the store decor, given the dim lighting and loud music (see below). The stores relinquished the animals in November 2000.
As of 2009 all new stores and select stores will grow through a brand upgrade. Inlcuding a new store front hall with a chandelier and table, and wallpaper throughout the store.
Music
Hollister Co. stores are known to play alternative music genres. The company policy is to play the music at the 80-85 decibel level. One investigation measured the level of sound at 90 decibels. OSHA requires employers to provide ear protection to employees exposed to decibel levels 90 or over. A store manager in a particular Hollister store stated that there were complaints from customers, but that the volume was mandated by corporate policy.
Future plans
Store expansion
Domestically, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. opened a total of 67 domestic Hollister Co. stores by the end of 2008. Upcoming store locations include: Anaheim GardenWalk, Bangor Mall, Bridgewater Commons, Brunswick Square Mall, Broadway Mall, Shops at Wiregrass, Cary Towne Center, Fashion Valley Mall, La Plaza Mall, Mall of New Hampshire, Newport Centre Mall, Pearland Town Center, Firewheel Towne Center, Seminole Towne Center, Bonita Lakes Mall, Shoppingtown Mall, The Oaks, and Weberstown Mall.
Internationally, expansion in Canada has continued with the opening of a fourth store on July 3, 2008 at Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket, Ontario. A fifth Hollister store is now open at Fairview Mall in Toronto during the month of November.. The first store in British Columbia opened at Pacific Centre mall in downtown Vancouver in 2008.
As of February 3, 2009, there are 3 stores in the United Kingdom. The first store to open was at Brent Cross, London. on October 25, 2008. This was shortly followed by a store at Westfield London on December 11, 2008. The most recent opening was at Bluewater on January 29, 2009. Work has started on a 4th store at West Quay in Southampton (opening date spring 2009), as well as proposals for stores at Liverpool One, Meadowhall in Sheffield and potentially a flagship in London Covent Garden. HCO is the second A&F Co. brand to open locations in the UK and enter the European market.
Hollister stores in Roosevelt Field Mall, New York, Aventura Mall in Florida, and LaPlaza mall in Texas are being used as testers by having an offsite location.
Flagship store
New York
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has announced the opening of a Hollister Co. flagship store in New York City, New York by spring 2009. The multi-leveled flagship will be located in the fashionable SoHo district on 600 Broadway at the southeast corner of Houston and Broadway. Thomas D. Lennox (Vice President of Corporate Communications, A&F Co.) stated that the company believes the flagship will be a "memorable" and "unique" experience to customers, as well as an important step for the brand.
Out of the total capital expenditures for fiscal 2008 of A&F Co. (up to 445 million USD), approximately 300 million USD will be spent on new store construction and remodeling, including the HCO flagship.
This store will be the first HCO flagship and the first non-Abercrombie & Fitch flagship in A&F Co.'s history. The company anticipates opportunities for opening HCO flagships "on an international basis" in the near future.
Currently, the largest Hollister store is located in White Plains, NY at The Westchester.
Morris vs. Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
In 2007, the lawsuit Morris vs. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was settled. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. admitted that they should have not asked their California customers for personal identification information during credit card refund transactions. Customers who were asked this information during June 9, 2005 through May 31st, 2007 may be entitled to receive gift cards.
Since the settlement, A&F Co. brands' stores have stopped asking for this information for returns on purchases for which a credit card had been used.
External LInks
- [https://careers.hollisterco.com/ HCO Careers website]
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