Hollister Co.

Template:Abercrombie & Fitch brand Hollister Co. (abbreviated to HCO or Hollister) is an American lifestyle brand by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. The concept is designed to attract consumers aged 14-24 through its SoCal-inspired image and casual wear. Goods are available in-store and through the company's online store. Despite the age target, the appeal of the HCO brand is universal like its parent brand and was ranked as the second most preferred teen clothing brand in 2008 by US Bancorp Piper Jaffray.

Fictional background

Like his other brands for Abercrombie & Fitch, Mike Jeffries created an elaborate fictional story to give meaning and feeling to the image of the Hollister concept.

The story begins with the fictional character John M. Hollister. An adventurous youth, he spent his youth practicing sports in the waters of Maine. He graduated from Yale University in 1915 at the age of 21. Not wanting the high-life his father established for him in Manhattan, the young man boarded a succesion of steamboats, finally arriving in the Dutch East Indies by 1917. There, he bought a rubber plantation from the fictitious Gregory Van Gilder, and soon came to know and love Gilder's daughter, Meta. Afterwards, Hollister sold the land with half of the money purchased a 50-foot schooner on which he and Meta spent two years sailing the South Pacific Ocean treasuring the diverse cultures. John and Meta harboured in Los Angeles in 1919, and married in the late fall. John M. Hollister, Jr. was born in 1920, and after "discovering California and himself" with his love for the South Pacific in mind John Sr. established Hollister Co. in 1922 in Laguna Beach. The company became purveyors of South Pacific treasures (hand-crafted furniture, jewelry, linens, and artifacts from all the islands). The company changed after John Jr. took over the business in 1957, bringing into the inventory surf apparel and equipment. Only in fantasy is the company said to be still managed by the Hollisters. Abercrombie & Fitch calls the story "a story of passion, youth and love of the sea [carrying] the harmony of romance, beauty, adventure."

The story is not made available but it helps tie in many elements of the brand with was in reallity conceived by Abercrombie & Fitch in the 21st century. The Hollister Co. brand is marketed as being established in 1922, and the date is found the labels and designs of the merchandise. The store is designed as to simulate the feeling of being in a surf shop. Furthermore, the story of the character John Jr. being a renown surfer is on the back of Jake cologne packaging.

History

Opening and effect

The first store was opened 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 Southern California. 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 cannibalizing the Abercrombie & Fitch brand. 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.

From international expansion to today

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. expanded into Canada in mid-January 2006. A&F opened Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister Co. stores at the Toronto Eaton Centre and Sherway Gardens shopping malls in Toronto, Ontario. These openings were delayed from the end of 2005 to early 2006 by construction and planning issues. As of 2009, HCO locations in Canada were: Sherway Gardens, Toronto Eaton Centre, and Fairview Mall in Toronto, the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, and Upper Canada Mall, in Newmarket, Ontario, and Pacific Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia s 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 California 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 the U.S. and Canada in Brent Cross, London. In December 2008 Hollister Co. opened its second store in the UK in Westfield London and a third at the upmarket Bluewater shopping centre, Kent, UK. Further more, after the success of the UK HCO stores in London, the first Hollister store outside of London was opened on May 14, 2009 in WestQuay Shopping centre in Southampton, which had the most successful store opening a Hollister has ever seen to date.

Marketing for the HCO flagship was launched in May 2009. The extensive marketing campaign advertised the store as "The Epic Hollister Store." A&F launched HCORideTheWave.com which offered electronic postcards, downloadable wallpaper and screensaver as well as directions to the flagship and a promotional film with computer-generated graphics of the multi-level floor layout and design. A countdown timer called the "Epic Countdown" tells the remainging time down to seconds till the opening. The first flagship for the HCO brand was finally opened 15 July 2009.

HCO today

Branding and marketing

Hollister California 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 HCO-labeled shopping bag carried out of the store produces a similar effect. As a result, the company has not relied on media marketing to communicate its desired look and appeal. 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

A Hollister tee shirt.

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, Boxers 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 labels proclaim Hollister Co. as "pacific merchants" established in 1922.

A&F Corporate keeps HCO price points affordable to its targeted high-school consumers. Outerwear at its highest is at US$160.00, and jeans at their highest at $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 men and women. In 2001, Hollister Co. was released. It was a unisex fragrance. In 2004, Drift was released for men, and August was released for women. Hollister Co, Drift, and August are currently discontinued. In 2005, Jake was released for men, and Malaia was released for women. 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. With the opening of the flagship store in New York, Hollister has released a flagship-only dudes scent called Epic. Epic is also available online. Hollister also has a line of body care products.

Stores

Side view of the Hollister California storefront in the Sunvalley Mall, Concord, California

Hollister California 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' interiors are 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. Room spray scented similar to "So Cal" cologne is sprayed 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. Also, in some stores there is a wall of little cubbies that contain the different types of Hollister lip gloss and lip balm.

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, including a new store front hall with a chandelier and table, and wallpaper throughout the store.

The New star employee at Hollister has been announced this year, it is Ms. Sara Arn--- From Abilene Texas.

Music

Hollister California stores are known to play alternative rock and pop music. 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.

Flagship stores

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. opened the first ever flagship store for the Hollister concept 16 July 2009, calling it "the coolest store to open in NYC." The flagship is located in the fashionable SoHo district on 600 Broadway at the southeast corner of Houston and Broadway. Four floors of the occupied building provide a retail space of 40,000 sq ft. The flagship rep. commented, "The EPIC store is what Hollister is all about--big waves, surf, sun, and hanging out on the pier. The laidback HCo. vibe is effortlessly cool, and we're bringing the SoCal lifestyle to SoHo." 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 was be spent on new store construction and remodeling, including the HCO flagship.

The company anticipates opportunities for opening HCO flagships "on an international basis" in the near future. It is called the "EPIC" expansion program for HCO, a part of the greater expansion effort for all A&F brands on a global scale.

Future store expansion

U.S. and Canada

Domestically, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. opened a total of 67 domestic Hollister California stores by the end of 2008. Upcoming store locations include: Anaheim GardenWalk, Bangor Mall, Bridgewater Commons, Brunswick Square 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 2009. Another location is planed for Masonville Place in London Ontario.

Europe

As of August 31, 2009, there are 6 stores in the United Kingdom. Listed below are the locations for new stores with planned opening dates (when available).

• Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes / November 2009
• Cabot Circus, Bristol / December 2009
• Liverpool One / December 2009
• Victoria Square (Belfast) / Late October 2009
• Union Square, Aberdeen / Late 2009

It is understood that A&F is in talks to take another four to five stores for HCO but many locations under discussion have not been revealed. According to Michael S. Jeffries, plans are to "accelerate the opening of international Hollister stores in 2010 and 2011." A&F intends HCO to open in Frankfurt am Main, Germany in October/November 2009 at the MyZeil shopping center. Another in Italy in the same year is also planed.

Asia

Though not yet officially stated, locations in Asia (particularly in Japan) will open within the following decade.

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 31, 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

• HCO Careers website