Hollister Co.

Hollister Co.

File:Hollister logo.svg Logo used since 2000
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail (clothing, accessories, fragrances)
Founded	July 27, 2000 (2000-07-27) in Columbus, Ohio, United States
Founder	Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Headquarters	New Albany, Ohio , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Products	Clothing, accessories, fragrances
Parent	Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Website	www.hollisterco.com

Hollister Co., commonly referred to as Hollister or HCo., operates as a retail label under the ownership of Abercrombie & Fitch Co, providing clothing, accessories, and fragrances through both physical outlets and online platforms. Despite the brand's assertion of being founded in 1922 in Hollister, California, its true inception occurred in 2000 in Ohio by Abercrombie.

Origins

The inaugural Hollister store opened its doors on July 27, 2000, at Easton Town Center located in Columbus, Ohio. This was soon followed by pilot stores in Overland Park, Kansas, Buford, Georgia, Canoga Park, California, and Paramus, New Jersey.

Abercrombie & Fitch fabricated a backstory for Hollister attributing its origin to John Hollister, Sr., who allegedly founded the brand in California in 1922 after relocating from New York City to the Dutch East Indies. In truth, Hollister was introduced as a lifestyle-oriented brand emphasizing inspiration over authentic surfing culture.

Global Growth

In January 2006, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. extended its presence into Canada by launching both Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister Co. stores in Toronto, Ontario.

By mid-2007, the company invested around US$10 million to equip Hollister stores across the United States with video walls that broadcast live footage from Surf City Huntington Beach, California, securing rights to film from the Huntington Beach Pier. Additionally, starting October 2007, a hundred Hollister locations began showcasing Abercrombie & Fitch’s fifth brand, Gilly Hicks, offering body care items such as Sessions branded sprays and lotions.

The first Hollister store outside North America debuted on October 25, 2008, at Brent Cross in London. The UK expansion continued with outlets at Westfield London, Bluewater (Kent), WestQuay Shopping Centre (Southampton), and Milton Keynes by early 2010. Furthermore, the brand established stores throughout Italy, Germany, China, Japan, Spain, and Ireland—the latter marked by the opening of its initial Irish shop at Dublin’s Dundrum Town Centre in 2011.

Marketing efforts for the flagship Hollister location commenced in May 2009 with a campaign titled "The Epic Hollister Store." This included an interactive website featuring digital content and a countdown leading up to the flagship’s grand opening on July 16, 2009. This flagship underscored the company’s strategy for international expansion and its influence within the retail apparel sector.

Stores

Originally, Abercrombie & Fitch designed Hollister Co. stores to mimic classic beach shacks with elements such as shuttered windows, brown textured walls, and a teal-colored boardwalk guiding customers to the entrance. The interiors were predominantly hidden from street view. This distinctive architectural style was subsequently adopted by some Abercrombie & Fitch locations.

In November, Abercrombie & Fitch revealed plans to update Hollister store designs by adding front-facing windows and eliminating the signature beach shack porch entryway. The revamped stores are more compact but provide increased space for merchandise display. By January, multiple remodeled and newly built locations had begun showcasing this fresh design approach.

Flagship store

On July 16, 2009, the company unveiled its inaugural Hollister flagship location in SoHo, Manhattan, New York. This store spanned four levels and encompassed roughly 40,000 square feet along Broadway. Designed to reflect the brand’s Southern California ethos, it played a key role in Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s broader retail growth strategy. During fiscal year 2008, approximately US$300 million of the total US$445 million capital expenditure was dedicated to opening new stores and refurbishing existing ones, including this flagship. The SoHo Hollister flagship ultimately ceased operations in 2019 as part of a wider program of store closures.

Trademark dispute with Hollister, California

In 2009, Abercrombie & Fitch issued warnings to businesses and residents of Hollister, California regarding the use of the "Hollister" name on apparel. David Cupps, A&F's general counsel, cautioned that unauthorized usage would result in legal proceedings. The conflict escalated in 2006 when Stacey Crummett, CEO of Rag City Blues based in Hollister, incorporated "Hollister" into her vintage jeans branding. After Abercrombie & Fitch opposed her trademark application, she retracted it.

Morris v. Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

In 2007, A&F resolved the Morris v. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. case by acknowledging that between June 2005 and May 2007 it had improperly required personal identification during credit card refund transactions in California. Customers affected by this practice were entitled to receive gift cards as compensation. Following the settlement, A&F stores discontinued requesting such information for credit card returns.

Religious discrimination allegations

Abercrombie & Fitch encountered accusations of religious discrimination after a Muslim employee at a Hollister Co. store was reprimanded for wearing a hijab. Initially instructed to limit her attire to certain colors, she was later directed by management to remove the hijab while working. In response, the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2010. A comparable complaint had been lodged against A&F in Oklahoma in 2009.

Wheelchair accessibility issues

In August 2011, United States District Judge Wiley Daniel from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado determined that two Hollister locations were non-compliant with the ADA because their porch-style entrances included steps that prevented wheelchair users from entering through the main doors, requiring them to use side entrances instead.

By 2012, this matter expanded into a nationwide class-action lawsuit. In March 2013, Judge Daniel identified that out of 483 Hollister stores constructed after the ADA’s passage, 248 featured entrances that violated ADA standards. He directed both the company and disability advocates to negotiate an injunction mandating modifications such as leveling entrances, adding ramps, or transforming raised entrances into decorative elements while rerouting customers to side doors. However, no consensus had been achieved as of May 2013.

In August 2013, Hollister and its parent company Abercrombie & Fitch were ordered to retrofit these 248 stores to comply with wheelchair accessibility requirements by removing steps or redesigning entrances. These renovations were intended to harmonize with Abercrombie & Fitch’s contemporary store concepts and were scheduled for completion by the end of 2013.

Employee searches conducted systematically

At the Kassel district court in Germany, Hollister and the company’s German works council reached an agreement to discontinue systematic searches of employees. According to this arrangement, employees roll a die, and only those who land on the number four are subjected to searches.

Unauthorized Havassy surfboard reproductions

In 2005, Hollister Co. created 360 unauthorized copies of signed Robb Havassy surfboards to be used as store decorations. After legal action was taken, Havassy obtained a confidential settlement. He characterized the situation as a conflict between a multi-billion-dollar corporation and the culture of surfing.

Red Poppy incident

In November 2010, an assistant manager at a Southampton store prohibited employee Harriet Phipps from wearing the Red Poppy, a symbol associated with the UK’s Armistice Day remembrance. The company justified this by referring to its uniform guidelines. The issue attracted media coverage, including features on ITV's Daybreak and BBC News.

Archie Parson, secretary of the Royal British Legion, condemned the ruling as lacking sensitivity toward the sacrifices made by military personnel.

Following public backlash, including comments on Hollister’s Facebook page, the company issued a statement affirming that staff members are permitted to wear poppies on Remembrance Day itself and indicated that the policy would be reassessed for the period leading up to the day.

Photo with racial insensitivity

In August 2012, upon opening a new store in South Korea, Hollister brought in male models for promotional purposes. One model shared an image depicting "squinty-eyed" features, while another performed an offensive hand gesture. Both models were terminated after an internal investigation.

Breastfeeding disputes

In January 2013, management at a Hollister location in Houston requested that a woman breastfeeding relocate and cease nursing within the store. This incident sparked a nationwide "nurse-in" demonstration at various Hollister outlets. Similarly, breastfeeding women at a Wilmington, Delaware mall faced opposition from mall security while at Hollister, leading to public controversy expressed on the mall’s Facebook page.

Concerns over privacy

TechCrunch reported that the Hollister iOS application employed session-replay technology to capture user interactions and transmitted this data to Israeli company Glassbox without obtaining users’ informed consent. This practice breached iOS App Store privacy regulations.