Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American
retail
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
chain specializing in
counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
-related
clothing
Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...
and
accessories
Accessory may refer to:
* Accessory (legal term), a person who assists a criminal
In anatomy
* Accessory bone
* Accessory muscle
* Accessory nucleus, in anatomy, a cranial nerve nucleus
* Accessory nerve
In arts and entertainment
* Accessory ...
, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
and
video gaming
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedback m ...
, and most of their audience ranges from teens to young adults. Approximately 40% of Hot Topic's revenue comes from sales of licensed band T-shirts.
[ Hot Topic often negotiates exclusive licensing arrangements with musical artists, movie studios, and graphic artists. The majority of the stores are located in regional ]shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
s.
History
The first Hot Topic store was opened in November 1989 in Montclair Plaza
Montclair Place is a indoor shopping mall in Montclair, California. The mall is anchored by JCPenney and Macy's. The mall was known as Montclair Plaza until 2015.
History At opening
The mall opened on November 5, 1968, at a cost of $50 million ...
, Montclair, California
Montclair is a city in the Pomona Valley, in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County, California. The population was 36,664 in the 2010 United States Census.
History
The earliest known inhabitants of the area wer ...
, by Orv Madden, a former executive at The Children's Place
The Children's Place Inc. is a specialty retailer of children’s apparel and accessories headquartered in New Jersey. It also markets apparel under the Children's Place, Place, Baby Place, and Gymboree brand names.
As of October 31, 2015, it o ...
, who retired as CEO in 2000 and was replaced by Betsy McLaughlin
Betsy McLaughlin is an American businesswoman who served as the CEO of Hot Topic from 2000 to 2011. She currently serves on consumer boards in the retail and restaurant sectors.
Education
McLaughlin was born in 1960 in Boston, Massachusetts. ...
, who headed the company until 2011. Lisa harper assumed the position of CEO in March 2011 until Steve Vranes was announced as the new CEO in 2016. The company went public and began trading on NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
in 1996.
In 2013, Hot Topic announced its sale to private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...
firm Sycamore Partners
Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm based in New York specializing in retail and consumer investments. The firm has approximately $10 billion in aggregate committed capital.
History
Founding
Sycamore Partners was founded in 2011 by Stefa ...
for $600 million.
Product assortment and sales
The store has been through a number of phases in its history, reflective of various alternative culture and pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
(including geek culture
The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In the past, it had a generall ...
) trends (prime examples being Lolita
''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humber ...
, goth
A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were:
*Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history
*Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history
Goth or Goths may also refer to:
* Goth (surname) ...
, or cosplay
Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...
outfits). In the early 2000s, the store was known for heavily marketing nu-metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu m ...
merchandise relating to bands. During that period, the store was also known for its sales of controversial gel bracelets
Gel bracelets (or jelly bracelets) are a type of wristband often made from silicone.
Gel bracelets
Gel bracelets usually have a rectangular or circular cross-section. They are stretchy and come in a variety of colors. They have been popular i ...
(often rumored to be "sex bracelets") as well as the equally controversial styles of phat pants
Phat pants, phatties, or phats are a style of pants that are fitted at the waist, but get increasingly wide down the legs, covering the feet entirely due to their width. Phat pants can be made out of a variety of materials, however denim, fau ...
-inspired bondage pants
Bondage pants or bondage trousers are trousers with zippers, straps, chains, rings and buckles, giving an appearance of a BDSM style.
They come in a variety of colors and patterns; one of the most common patterns being tartan. They also come in a ...
popular among teenagers in the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s.
The store later focused on skinny jeans
Slim-fit pants or skinny jeans (when made of denim) are tight trousers that have a snug fit through the legs and end in a small leg opening that can be anywhere from 9" to 20" in circumference, depending on size. Other names for this style includ ...
and merchandise related to scene
Scene (from Ancient Greek, Greek σκηνή ''skēnḗ'') may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
*Scene (subculture), a youth subculture from the early 2000s characterized by a distinct music and style. Groups and performers
* The S ...
, emo
Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
and hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...
music and fashion, with a much larger focus on goths and spiky chokers and clothing. At present, the store's selection is largely focused on licensed video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
merchandise and internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
s popular on sites such as tumblr
Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...
, as well as anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
, manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
, Japanese films
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that e ...
, and the associated otaku
is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...
subculture.
Ventures
Hot Topic launched Torrid, a concept store that sells clothing for plus-size women, in 2001. While still under the same parent umbrella as Hot Topic, in 2015 the company branched off to become Torrid, LLC.
In 2008, Hot Topic launched ShockHound
ShockHound was an online music download site, retail store and social networking platform launched by Hot Topic in 2008. ShockHound music files were available for download in the MP3 format, making them compatible with most digital music player ...
, an online retailer and social networking
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for an ...
music site. In March 2011, Hot Topic made a public statement announcing the shutdown of ShockHound. The site is no longer live, all merchandise was moved to HotTopic.com, and the company ceased sales of MP3s.
In August 2010, Hot Topic opened two new stores in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, which also marked the chain's first two international outlets. The first store opened on August 11 at Square One Shopping Centre
Square One Shopping Centre, or simply Square One, is a shopping mall located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest shopping centre in Ontario and the second largest shopping centre in Canada, after the West Edmonton Mall. It h ...
in Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...
, and then at Scarborough Town Centre
Scarborough Town Centre (STC) is a shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre in the former city of Scarborough, it is adjacent to Scarborough Centre station, the Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal and the CTV ...
in Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
the following day. The company has since also opened additional Canadian locations as well as locations in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
.
In 2012, Hot Topic launched Blackheart Lingerie, a concept store that sells lingerie and clothing for women.
On May 26, 2015, Hot Topic announced its intent to acquire Geeknet Inc., owner of the online retailer ThinkGeek
ThinkGeek was an American retailer that catered to computer enthusiasts and "geek culture". Described as a "Sharper Image for sysadmins", their merchandise has been likened to "toys for adults, novelties designed to appeal to both your inner child ...
, for $122 million. However, the company received a $140 million counter-offer from GameStop
GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...
, which Hot Topic did not choose to exceed.
On October 14, 2015, Hot Topic launched BoxLunch, a gift and novelty retail store. For every $10 spent, a meal is donated to a person in need.
Tour sponsorship
The company sponsored the 2004 Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband Ozzy Osbourne, both ...
concert tour, the 2005 through 2007 Sounds of the Underground tour, the 2008 Taste of Chaos
Taste of Chaos (or "TOC") was a live music tour that was started in the winter of 2005 by Kevin Lyman, the creator of the successful Warped Tour along with his friend and business partner, John Reese. The Taste Of Chaos tour catered to fans of ...
tour, and had a stage at and sponsored the 2008 and 2009 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
The Mayhem Festival was a touring heavy metal festival that took place during the summer. The inaugural season took place in 2008; the festival later became an annual event across the United States. Most years also included a single date in eit ...
tours. The company went on to sponsor Black Veil Brides
Black Veil Brides is an American rock band based in Hollywood, California. The group formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently composed of lead vocalist Andy Biersack, rhythm guitarist and violinist Jinxx, lead guitarist Jake Pitts, ...
2014 Black Mass tour with special guests Falling in Reverse
Falling in Reverse is an American Rock music, rock band based in Las Vegas, Nevada, that formed in 2008 by lead vocalist Ronnie Radke while he was incarcerated. The band's original name was "From Behind These Walls", but it was quickly renamed ...
.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2000s fashion
2010s fashion
Companies based in the City of Industry, California
American companies established in 1989
Clothing companies established in 1989
Retail companies established in 1989
2013 mergers and acquisitions
Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
Clothing retailers of the United States
Goth subculture
Retail companies based in California
1989 establishments in California
1996 initial public offerings
Novelty items