Hollister vs. Hollister: Trendy clothes-maker battles scrappy farm town
Filed under: Extracurriculars, Shopping
My cousin's 16-year-old daughter is crazy for Hollister, a brand of casual "surf-style" clothes. To this New Hampshire teen, the shorts and hoodies she covets summon up a kind of laid-back, sun-kissed lifestyle (complete with laid-back, sun-kissed boys), that she can only dream of. I had to laugh. The first thing I thought of when I learned about this trend was the small, dusty farming town of Hollister, Calif., which is nowhere near the beach, and where the lifestyle is decidedly more cowboy than surfer.
But then I learned that, more likely, the name might have been taken from a legendary surf spot known as Hollister Ranch, a private stretch of unspoiled beach between Santa Barbara and the mid-coast.
So it was sort of surprising to hear that the makers of Hollister are threatening to sue merchants in the actual town of Hollister if they sell merchandise bearing their town's name.
Preppy clothier Abercrombie & Fitch own the brand, and have already sent a letter threatening action against a clothing line based in Hollister because it had the audacity to put the name of the town on their labels. The owner says she was just trying to give a shout out to the town her headquarters is located in, but she backed down anyway. No small business wants to go up against a giant.Hollister locals, of course, say them's fightin' words, and many merchants are ignoring the threat. The schools aren't about to stop making sweatshirts that bear the name of their town, either. The town's city attorney says no one can own the copyright of a place, and a Stanford law professor who specializes in copyright law agrees with her. The scrappy citizens of Hollister are ready for a fight. It's garnered a lot of publicity for the town, anyway.
Hollister the brand was launched in 2000. Hollister the town was incorporated in 1872. Abercrombie & Fitch says it pulled the name Hollister out of thin air, and used it to build up a fictional California beach town to help sell its line of surf-clothes. It currently has more than 500 retail stores spread across the United States, selling clothes that are hugely popular with teens, (especially teens who don't have access to California beaches).
Ironically, residents of the ultra-elite (and gated) enclave of Hollister Ranch don't allow the hoi-polloi on their beach, so local surfers launch boats from nearby Gaviota pier and surf from off-shore, which California law permits. So the "surfing lifestyle" of Hollister Ranch is somewhat less laid-back and rather more subversive than the clothing line's fictional Hollister, Calif. would probably be comfortable with.
But the ultimate insult came when Abercrombie & Fitch refused an invitation to open an outlet store in Hollister. The lower-end demographics of the place didn't add up, it said. That's short sighted and snobby. Since the brand became popular, thousands of tourists have rolled into town, mistakenly expecting to find Hollister (the brand) paydirt. They'll probably have to make due with a tourist T-shirt bearing the name Hollister, Calif. instead.
So it was sort of surprising to hear that the makers of Hollister are threatening to sue merchants in the actual town of Hollister if they sell merchandise bearing their town's name.
Preppy clothier Abercrombie & Fitch own the brand, and have already sent a letter threatening action against a clothing line based in Hollister because it had the audacity to put the name of the town on their labels. The owner says she was just trying to give a shout out to the town her headquarters is located in, but she backed down anyway. No small business wants to go up against a giant.Hollister locals, of course, say them's fightin' words, and many merchants are ignoring the threat. The schools aren't about to stop making sweatshirts that bear the name of their town, either. The town's city attorney says no one can own the copyright of a place, and a Stanford law professor who specializes in copyright law agrees with her. The scrappy citizens of Hollister are ready for a fight. It's garnered a lot of publicity for the town, anyway.
Hollister the brand was launched in 2000. Hollister the town was incorporated in 1872. Abercrombie & Fitch says it pulled the name Hollister out of thin air, and used it to build up a fictional California beach town to help sell its line of surf-clothes. It currently has more than 500 retail stores spread across the United States, selling clothes that are hugely popular with teens, (especially teens who don't have access to California beaches).
Ironically, residents of the ultra-elite (and gated) enclave of Hollister Ranch don't allow the hoi-polloi on their beach, so local surfers launch boats from nearby Gaviota pier and surf from off-shore, which California law permits. So the "surfing lifestyle" of Hollister Ranch is somewhat less laid-back and rather more subversive than the clothing line's fictional Hollister, Calif. would probably be comfortable with.
But the ultimate insult came when Abercrombie & Fitch refused an invitation to open an outlet store in Hollister. The lower-end demographics of the place didn't add up, it said. That's short sighted and snobby. Since the brand became popular, thousands of tourists have rolled into town, mistakenly expecting to find Hollister (the brand) paydirt. They'll probably have to make due with a tourist T-shirt bearing the name Hollister, Calif. instead.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-11-2009 @ 7:36PM
Michele said...
Hollister the store needs to go away. Their stuff is expensive and only made for skinny people. You can get the exact same style at Walmart or Target. Hollister the town sounds cool though.
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7-17-2009 @ 10:17PM
jesse said...
I love Hollister! And why can't there be a store for skinny people? god...
5-11-2009 @ 8:44PM
Youngjae said...
wait. if hollister was established in 2000, then why does it say "established 1922" on almost all their merchandise?
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5-13-2009 @ 6:26AM
Mel said...
How can I get a Hollister (the town), California t-shirt established in 1872? Not that I enjoy shopping at the malls, but would be glad to wear a Hollister the town t-shirt into Hollister the store just to show my support for scrappy towns! :-)
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5-13-2009 @ 6:26AM
UCantFoolMom said...
I hate walking past the Hollister store in our local mall. They always have really bad smelling stuff (cologne? who knows) emanating from the store. Not only is it irritating, but it can be dangerous for people who have allergies. Since that store moved in, I avoid that mall as much as possible.
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5-13-2009 @ 7:14AM
dan said...
UCan'tFoolMom
I have 1 college aged daughter and two high school aged teenagers. We go into these Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch stores from time to time. They have these spray cans that they spray on their clothing displays and around the store that are unique and uniquely nasty! None of us have allergies so it doesn't bother us. The whole atmosphere sucks if you ask me though - fake smell sprayed on clothes, loud annoying music that makes it impossible to have a conversation within a 100 yards of the entrance and such dim lighting you would swear you were in a bar.
We may go in from time to time but we rarely buy anything. Abercrombie & Fitch has such outrageous prices they put Neiman Marcus to shame! Some T-Shirts are upwars of $30 or $40. The Hollister line is less expensive than A&F but I can tell you they have been trying to inch those prices up the last couple years. Any parent with a little experience will tell you that Aeropostale is the place to go for teen and young adult clothes. Much better prices, lighting and clothing that is just as good.
5-13-2009 @ 6:41AM
Rich said...
I say.... GO FOR IT Town of Hollister....Counter-Sue THEM (The snobs) instead. Don't back down....Heck, NEVER back down. Remember, YOU were "Hollister" FIRST!
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5-13-2009 @ 7:01AM
John said...
once again corporate trying to control everything including names of citys fight back hollister and tell them to keep their stinking stores out of your town
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5-13-2009 @ 7:28AM
Tammy said...
I think it is sad that the big corporations think that they can just bully their way around people because they have the big bucks. Just like the store owner in Hollister...she backed down right away because she doesn't have the resources to fight for what she has more right to then A & F!! Hollister the town was established first which means they have first dibs on the name...it's time for big corporations to stop getting so proprietary over every little detail. I am going to send a letter to the city attorney of Hollister voicing my support and hope that they take up the lawsuit against Hollister the clothing and I hope that everyone here does the same....it's time to say enough...Hollister the town had the name first!! So they have first rights to use it!!!
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5-13-2009 @ 7:28AM
dansamga said...
Abercrombie & Fitch is a joke. My kids used to like a few select things in their stores Abercrombie & Fitch as well as Hollister. IT was funny in 2000 because I remember all the kids saying a new store opened that had much better prices than A&F. IT was immediately obvious to me that they were both owned by the same company just walking into one for the first time. A&F puts out the upstate NY image and Hollister puts out the CA coast image. They were trying to cover both upscale and moderate markets with two stores back in 2000.
When all retailers were dropping prices last Christmas season, A&F refused. Their image was more important to them and the sales were few and far between, same with Hollister. They have tried for 9 years to crank the Hollister prices up to match A&F stores. Seriously, $39 t-shirts, $89 jeans and coats that run over $300!
One of the first two outlet stores for these stores is in a local mall here in Dallas/Fort Worth. I just bought my daughter a coat for next winter. Originally it sold for $250! The price I paid????? $29.90! We have to be patient and don't always get the items we want but we refuse to pay their sky high prices. We wait for the items to hang around for a while and buy them at the prices we are willing to pay. They are good quality clothes but the prices are always way too high in regular mall stores. The outlet store is better but we have to be patient.
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5-13-2009 @ 2:07PM
Jim said...
Once again, corporate greed outweighing common sense.
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5-13-2009 @ 9:30AM
W said...
At least the catalogs are for 18 and over.
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5-13-2009 @ 7:51AM
Cheryl Ann Tomlin said...
What about Hollister, Missouri, will they be sued also? I'm all for a counter-suit, the town needs to win, they had the name first!!!
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5-13-2009 @ 8:44AM
dansamga said...
Incidentally, they can kiss my rear if they think I am buying anything else for quite some time after that little effort. A city of working people that is around for 120+ years just happens to have the name of the ficticious town A&F decided to use when naming the store. They supposedly "pulled the name out of thin air when deciding to name their store to sell their line of surf clothes". Too bad they did not check to see if there was such a place...but to have the balls to then turn around and threaten the people of the town is absurd. I hope the town of Hollister screws them big time!
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5-13-2009 @ 9:36AM
Lizzy said...
When I first saw Hollister on T-Shirts I laughed growing up in California ( bay area ) the only time we ever heard of Hollister if they had a big quake and I know they are so far inland how the heck do they know about surf gear? lol . I think when I go home to visit Im going to Hollister and Hopefully they will still have Hollsiter T - Shirts ( the Orginal Hollsiter ) on sale I will buy one for myself and my kids and probally are made for real people with real figures not stick figures... Priced for real people as well. False advertisement saying established in 1922 . Is that a law suit ? Hmmmmm
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