There’s nothing like the feeling of knowing that you don’t belong somewhere. I am reminded of this whenever I step inside a Hollister retail store, which is so teen it hurts.
No brand name over the front doors, no glass windows to see inside, and two Tiger Beat model types to greet you on the way in. The inside is so dark, ladies might feel the instinct to grasp the pepper spray inside their purses. An overbearing perfume/cologne mix hangs in the air. It’s almost as if they’ve designed the store to repel you, but their success clearly shows that Gen Y is responding.
Above is a peek inside one such store, which almost seems to go against every ergonomic and design rule conceived in the last 50 years. But perhaps that’s precisely why it’s so successful. Teens are always going to want to rebel against their elders, and this is just the latest iteration.
Or…maybe I’m just getting older. Next thing you know I’m yelling at kids to get off my lawn…
June 15, 2007 on 12:14 am
But, I think the extent to which angsty teens have any input into the design of the store is through focus groups. I guess it has proven useful.
I already have the urge to yell at the kids playing in our backyard, but due to some agreement between our landlord and the dad next door, I’m helpless. They’re dead if that basketball hits my car…
June 21, 2007 on 8:22 pm
Getting old is insanely painful isn’t it buddy?
December 23, 2007 on 10:35 pm
im a teenager. and i love hollister.
we aren’t rebelling against our parents by shopping there, we just like the clothes.
personally, i like how they keep the stores. the music is great, the smell is awesome, and i like the dark lights. you eventually get used to the setting.
also, the people that work there are so cool! all of them are really nice and help in whatever way they can.
i can see why a parent or an older person might not like the store, but im sure that when you were our age you liked odd stuff that your parents didn’t.
January 22, 2008 on 9:17 pm
I agree with everything that David said. Everytime I go into the store i feel like I am going to go deaf because the music is SO loud. Also the smell of the perfume and everything else they spray is sooo overwhelming because they spray it every 5 mins. I have not once ever been greeted by someone who works there and I have NEVER been asked if I am doing alright or if I need any help. Dont get me wrong I like their clothes but honestly they need to get their acts together and maybe should think about designing a store where it is more friendly, open, and bright.
March 12, 2008 on 7:38 pm
OMG, I luv holliter wats wrong w. their clothes come on here people whimpy stores have tube tops lik limited 2. I am obsessed with the purfume and love the darkness it makes you feel like u are actaully a model anyway parents can just stay out side
March 29, 2008 on 12:00 pm
ok guys… im a teenager, so i should know! We arent rebelling against u ! we just feel comfortable in those stores.. its the same way in Abercrombie and Abercrombie and Fitch. The style is very good and they ALWAYS greet you when you walk in. they’ll sa, “hey, wats up? if u need anything, just come and ask, and to let u know our sales are….” and they will really help u. so, were not rebelling, were just trying to develop our own style, i mean me and m friends, our clsets are filled with heir stuff, in fact im wearing a hollister top right now… its a place to hang out and have fun, so dont trash us!
June 24, 2008 on 3:45 pm
It is a very interesting marketing scheme that Hollister makes their store so unwelcoming - similar to a teen’s bedroom perhaps? I would like to see how these “if you don’t know what we are, you don’t deserve to know” marketing tactics have served them in an industry infiltrated with young adult Abercrombie-rip-off clothes…
October 1, 2008 on 10:06 pm
I am unfamiliar with the brand, my origins and current location being Australia… so as any self-respecting Gen Y-er I Googled it….
“Hollister is dedicated to delivering the highest standard of products and service in Ostomy, Continence and Wound Care.”
Seems like the haunt of Boomers rather than teens?!
PS: I turned off my Aussie filter and am now totally sussed…
December 28, 2008 on 7:04 pm
It doesn’t work on all of them. My son (14) actually walked out of A&F today because they over did the scent and he couldn’t take it. It also smelled different than (just) abercrombie.
He isn’t and has never been a fan of Holister.
Maybe I am just a lucky parent
December 28, 2008 on 7:16 pm
I still can’t get over the fact that zillions of teenagers drop a lot of coin to get a relaxed surfer beach look that comes from a store named for a small agricultural town in the middle of the freakin’ state of California! Not a beach or wave anywhere near the place. Marketing genius if you ask me.
Oh and by the way, there’s a store for you old folk too - it’s called Ruehl. It’s the store you shop in when you’re too old for Hollister and too cool for Abercrombie & Fitch. It’s set up to look like a cool downtown NYC Greenwich Village brownstone and the prices adjust up accordingly (since presumably you are making more money and not living off mom & dad anymore). And it just happens to be owned by the A&F companies.
The A&F companies have figured out how to cover a huge portion of the consumer base. Hollister shoppers will “outgrow” Hollister eventually and may even not want to shop in Abercrombie & Fitch but with a more upscale line to make them feel grown-up and special they never have to leave the A&F brand (i.e. take their money elsewhere)…..again, I say sheer marketing genius.