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 has ranked 1st for four consecutive seasons as Teens' Top Clothing Brand since 2007.
Opening and effect
Hollister Co. opened its first store in July 2000[1] at the Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio.[6][7] 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.[8]
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 including but not limited to autographed CDs, surfboards and so on. The program also involved a system of cards, wherein a single card was awarded to each individual participant. The program began with the "Red Card" at the $0 USD through $500 USD level. Once a cardholder purchased beyond $500 USD of HCO merchandise, they received the "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 will open at Fairview Mall in Toronto, Ontario.
Starting summer 2007, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. spent an approximate amount of $10 million USD to install video walls into Hollister Co. stores nationwide.[9] 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.
Via Wikipedia
