Hollister Co., sometimes advertised as Hollister or HCo., is an American lifestyle brand by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. The concept was originally designed to attract consumers aged 14–18, at a lower price point than the parent brand.[2] through itsSoCal-inspired image and casual wear.[5] Goods are available in-store and through the company's online store.[6][7] It was ranked as the second most preferred clothing brand of US teens on a long list of actual West Coast companies in 2008 byPiper Jaffray.[8]
-Bettys & Dudes
Abercrombie & Fitch has designed Hollister Co. stores to simulate the appearance of vintage beach shacks in an indoor shopping mall, making Hollister stores stand out from any other store in the mall. Exterior décor include shuttered windows, and light and dark brown patten walls. A teal boardwalk with three steps leads to the entrance, with plans to eventually include a low-hanging chandelier on the porch of all stores, one of many upgrades being brought to all stores. The interior of the store is mostly concealed from outside view by a parallel wall. The shuttered windows were meant to add to the atmosphere of the store and keep out customers that did not fit in, while also allowing customers in wheelchairs access to the store without using the porch steps as these shuttered doors are in fact fully operational doors. Abercrombie & Fitch experimented with shuttered windows when they created Hollister Co. and the concept was eventually expanded to the Abercrombie & Fitch brand.[17]
Retail space is divided into separate rooms with half of the store devoted to "Dudes" and the other to "Bettys" (which usually overflows onto the "Dudes" side in the back clearance room). Hollister Co. stores have their own monthly playlist, which is packed with surfer inspired tunes to set the whole beach shack mood and played at a fairly high volume through many strategically placed speakers throughout the store. Customers used to be able to choose the songs they want to hear using a touch screen positioned on the checkout counter wall, however this feature was removed leaving the touch screen to only display the songs titles and artists. Dimly lit by spot-lighting, the interior décor throughout includes leather armchairs, worn rugs, patterened wallpaper (part of the recent store upgrades), surf boards lining the wall behind the registers (some bearing "Hollister"), and potted palm trees placed around the store. A central room (housing bodycare merchandise and the cashwrap or checkout area) plays as a "living room" and offers dozens of surf and general popular culture magazines for sale along with CDs of the music being played in store. The merchandise itself is displayed on built-in closets and shelves along with dark wooden tables, cots, and benches strategically placed in the rooms. Recently the stores have changed the layout and style of the merchandise tables, favoring rectangular tables over rounded tables for space and loss prevention reasons. Mandated by corporate, the stores and clothing itself are constantly kept scented with the current popular HCo fragrance SoCal via spritzing by employees and a recently installed computerized spritzing system installed in the ceiling which releases fragrance at timed intervals. This is part of the reason customers can usually smell the store before they even approach it, a good or bad effect depending on if one likes the fragrance, which many customers do and actually enjoy the clothing being "pre-scented".
Originally, the store design included a resident live Maine Coon cat, named Fletcher, and a Green wing Macaw named Riley. Animal rights activists protested the inappropriate and inhumane use of live animals in the store décor, given the dim lighting and loud music (see below). The stores relinquished the animals in November 2000. Other changes since the stores inception include the abandonment of the surf style locker room style dressing rooms, in favor of the traditional sectioned-off one person behind a curtain style dressing room. The music level has also been reduced due to complaints from parents and special interest groups, though the music level usually varies on store and usually is not consistent day to day as it once was.
[edit]Music
Hollister Co. stores are known to play an eclectic selection of alternative rock and pop music. The company policy is to play the music at the 80–85 decibel level.[18] One investigation measured the level of sound at 90 decibels.[18] OSHA requires employers to provide ear protection to employees exposed to decibel levels 90 or over.[18] A store manager in a particular Hollister store stated that there were complaints from customers, but that the volume was mandated by corporate policy, though depending on the day and on the store, the music is usually lower due to the complaints.[18]
[edit]Flagship stores
The Company opened the first ever flagship store for the Hollister concept 16 July 2009,[19][20] calling it "the coolest store to open in NYC."[21] 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 (3,700 m2).[21] 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."[21] 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.[19] Out of the total capital expenditures for fiscal 2008 of A&F Co. (up to 445 million USD), approximately 300 million USD was spent on new store construction and remodeling, including the HCO flagship.[22]
In November 2009, A&F released plans to open an "EPIC Hollister" in 2010 on Fifth Avenue.[23] In February 2010, A&F officially confirmed its plan to open a second EPIC flagship in New York.[24] The location, originally planned for an abercrombie flagship, is on 666 Fifth Avenue,[25] and included 22,000 square feet (2,000 m2) of retail space.[26] The location was the previous second flagship spot of Brooks Brothers which vacated January 31, 2009. 666 is also one of the most expensive retail spaces on the Avenue[25] is near the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship and such luxury boutiques as Chanel, Fendi, and Prada.[27] The Fifth Avenue Hollister flagship opened in the later part of 2010 and features a live video feed from Huntington Beach displayed on 179 flat-screen TVs outside the store along with wave pools.[28]
Abercrombie & Fitch anticipates opportunities for opening HCO flagships "on an international basis" in the near future.[19] 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.[21]
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