Hot Topic
Encyclopedia
Hot Topic is an American retail
chain specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing
and accessories
, as well as licensed music on CD. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping mall
s. The first Hot Topic store was opened in 1988 by Orv Madden, who retired as CEO in 2000 and was replaced by Betsy McLaughlin
, who helmed the company until 2011. Lisa Harper assumed the position of CEO in March 2011. The company went public and began trading on NASDAQ in 1996. In 2006, Hot Topic was placed 53rd on Fortune 500
's Top Companies to Work For list.
, Psychopathic Records
, Social Collision, Heartcore Clothing
, Iron Fist
, Nintendo
, Nickelodeon
, web celebrities, Invader Zim
, Hopeless Records
, Harry Potter
, Hip-Hop
, and more recently, Doctor Who
, Adventure Time
, Sons Of Anarchy
, and Alice in Wonderland
merchandise.
Up to 50% of Hot Topic's sales are generated by accessories, including sunglasses, private-label body jewelry, hosiery, makeup, licensed music artist stickers and other miscellaneous pop-culture items. Accessories generate the most significant amount of profit for the company. Hot Topic drives the profit margin by the use of cross merchandising
and suggestive selling. They are also one of the most frequently targeted retailers that suffer shoplifting shrinks.
women. Torrid stores currently carry brands such as Baby Phat
, House of Dereon
, Dickies
, Z. Cavaricci and Apple Bottoms
.
, an online retailer and social networking music site. The site features music downloads, interviews and exclusive content. Hot Topic's original website, hottopic.com, was launched in 1997, and ships products to approximately 100 countries.
Hot Topic's European website launched in April 2010 which is now no longer active.
In March 2011, Hot Topic made a public statement citing the shutdown of ShockHound. Once the site is no longer live, all merchandise will be moved to HotTopic.com and the company will cease sales of MP3s.
concert tour, the 2005 through 2007 Sounds of the Underground
tour, the 2008 Taste of Chaos
tour, and had a stage at and sponsored the 2008 and 2009 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
tours.
in 2004, focusing on encouraging children and youth in the pursuit of music
and the arts
. It has granted approximately $4 million to more than 70 organizations throughout the U.S. Recipients have included the Chicago International Children's Film Festival
, Little Kids Rock
, Heart of Los Angeles, MIND Institute
, the Chicago Humanities Festival
, Rock Against Cancer, Inner-City Arts, Big Thought, IFP Chicago, Spy Hop Productions, Footlights Inc., Carolina Studios Corp and the KIPP Bayview Academy. Money is raised through sales of guitar picks, exclusive music compilations, mints, and reusable shopping bags.
, which also marked the chain's first two international outlets. The first store opened on August 11 at Square One Shopping Centre
in Mississauga, Ontario
, and then at Scarborough Town Centre
in Toronto, Ontario the following day.
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
chain specializing in music and pop culture-related clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
and accessories
Fashion accessory
Fashion accessories are decorative items that supplement and complement clothes, such as jewelery, gloves, handbags, hats, belts, scarves, wigs, watches, sunglasses, pins, stockings, bow ties, hand fans, leg warmers, leggings, neckties, suspenders, and tights....
, as well as licensed music on CD. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s. The first Hot Topic store was opened in 1988 by Orv Madden, who retired as CEO in 2000 and was replaced by Betsy McLaughlin
Betsy McLaughlin
Betsy McLaughlin was the former CEO of Hot Topic, Inc. . She graduated from University of California, Irvine. During McLaughlin's time with Hot Topic, the corporation made "Fortune's 100 Best Places to Work in America" list. McLaughlin succeeded Hot Topic founder Orv Madden as CEO in 2000, when he...
, who helmed the company until 2011. Lisa Harper assumed the position of CEO in March 2011. The company went public and began trading on NASDAQ in 1996. In 2006, Hot Topic was placed 53rd on Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
's Top Companies to Work For list.
Product assortment and sales
Approximately 30% 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. Fashion apparel for men and women is featured prominently in stores, with products from Lip Service, Morbid Threads, Star Wars, Disney, SanrioSanrio
is a Japanese company that designs, licenses and produces products focusing on the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. Their products include stationery, school supplies, gifts and accessories that are sold worldwide and at specialty brand retail stores in Japan...
, Psychopathic Records
Psychopathic Records
Psychopathic Records, also known as "The Hatchet", is an American independent record label based in Farmington Hills, Michigan that specializes in hip hop music. The label was founded in 1991 by Alex Abbiss and hip hop group Insane Clown Posse....
, Social Collision, Heartcore Clothing
Heartcore Clothing
Heartcore Clothing is a company based in Tampa, Florida in the United States. They have sponsored the bands Aiden, Hawthorne Heights, Gym Class Heroes, Atreyu, Anberlin, Silverstein...
, Iron Fist
Iron Fist
Iron Fist is a fictional character, a comic book superhero in the , and a practitioner of martial arts. Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, he first appeared in Marvel Premiere #15...
, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, web celebrities, Invader Zim
Invader Zim
Invader Zim is an American animated television series created by Jhonen Vasquez. It was produced by and subsequently aired on Nickelodeon. The series revolves around an extraterrestrial named Zim from the planet Irk, and his ongoing mission to conquer and destroy Earth...
, Hopeless Records
Hopeless Records
Hopeless Records is an independent record label located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. The label was started in 1993 by Louis Posen and financed by a group of private investors. Hopeless's artists are generally considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, or alternative rock, but some...
, Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
, Hip-Hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, and more recently, Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, Adventure Time
Adventure Time
Adventure Time was a local children's television show on WTAE-TV 4 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1959 to 1975. It was hosted by the late Paul Shannon, with guitarist Joe Negri and puppeteer Jim Martin...
, Sons Of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy
Sons of Anarchy is an American television drama series created by Kurt Sutter about the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club operating in Charming, a fictional town in Northern California...
, and Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
merchandise.
Up to 50% of Hot Topic's sales are generated by accessories, including sunglasses, private-label body jewelry, hosiery, makeup, licensed music artist stickers and other miscellaneous pop-culture items. Accessories generate the most significant amount of profit for the company. Hot Topic drives the profit margin by the use of cross merchandising
Cross merchandising
Cross merchandising is the practice of marketing, or displaying products from different categories together, in order to generate additional revenue, known sometimes as add-on sales, or incremental purchase. This can often be done in conjunction with customer-centric strategies, aimed at improving...
and suggestive selling. They are also one of the most frequently targeted retailers that suffer shoplifting shrinks.
Torrid division
In 2001, Hot Topic launched Torrid, a concept store that sells clothing for plus-sizePlus-size clothing
Plus size clothing is a general term given to clothing proportioned specifically for overweight people. Also called Outsize in some countries , this term has been losing favour since the 1990s...
women. Torrid stores currently carry brands such as Baby Phat
Baby Phat
Baby Phat is an urban fashion line of clothing and other items for women and girls. Besides clothing, the brand also includes accessories for phones, jewelry, shoes and fragrances. It is the corporate "sibling" of the clothing brand Phat Farm created by Russell Simmons. Baby Phat uses a sleek cat...
, House of Dereon
House of Deréon
House of Deréon is a ready-to-wear fashion line introduced by singer and actress Beyoncé Knowles and her mother/stylist Tina Knowles. The style and concept is inspired by three generations of women in their family, with the name "Deréon" paying tribute to Beyoncé's maternal grandmother, Agnèz Deréon...
, Dickies
Dickies
Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, more commonly referred to as the brand Dickies, is an American company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas that manufactures and sells work-related clothing and other accessories, including back packs, steel-toe boots, and belts. Its major competitors are...
, Z. Cavaricci and Apple Bottoms
Apple Bottoms
Apple Bottoms is a fashion and lifestyle brand for women launched in 2003 by rap artist Nelly, Yomi Martin and Ian Kelly. The brand was initially a denim label, but has since expanded to include other women's and girl's clothing, perfume and accessories....
.
Websites
In 2008, Hot Topic launched ShockHoundShockHound
ShockHound was an online music download site, retail store and social networking platform launched by Hot Topic in 2008. ShockHound music files are available for download in the MP3 format, making them compatible with most digital music players, and free from digital rights management software...
, an online retailer and social networking music site. The site features music downloads, interviews and exclusive content. Hot Topic's original website, hottopic.com, was launched in 1997, and ships products to approximately 100 countries.
Hot Topic's European website launched in April 2010 which is now no longer active.
In March 2011, Hot Topic made a public statement citing the shutdown of ShockHound. Once the site is no longer live, all merchandise will be moved to HotTopic.com and the company will cease sales of MP3s.
Tour sponsorship
The company has sponsored the 2004 OzzfestOzzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
concert tour, the 2005 through 2007 Sounds of the Underground
Sounds of the Underground
The Sounds of the Underground tour was a festival-like tour that rivaled Ozzfest in its first year of existence .The tour features extreme metal and metalcore, and hardcore bands. The existence of this tour, which was held in national arenas, was to attract the rising interest of metal, hardcore,...
tour, the 2008 Taste of Chaos
Taste of Chaos
Taste of Chaos is a hardcore tour that was started in the winter of 2005 by Kevin Lyman, the creator of the successful Warped Tour along with friend and business partner, John Reese. The Taste Of Chaos tour caters for fans of the post-hardcore, screamo, and metal genres, while offering the same...
tour, and had a stage at and sponsored the 2008 and 2009 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
Mayhem festival
The Mayhem Festival is a touring metal festival that takes place during the summer. The inaugural iteration took place in 2008; the festival has since become an annual event across the United States and Quebec, Canada. The tour has been sponsored by the Rockstar Energy Company since the time of its...
tours.
Hot Topic Foundation
The Hot Topic Foundation was formed at the California Community FoundationCalifornia Community Foundation
The California Community Foundation is a leading philanthropic organization in the United States, managing approximately $1 billion in assets and granting nearly $100 million to nonprofit organizations in Los Angeles County and causes around the world....
in 2004, focusing on encouraging children and youth in the pursuit of music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and the arts
The arts
The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and...
. It has granted approximately $4 million to more than 70 organizations throughout the U.S. Recipients have included the Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Chicago International Children's Film Festival
Founded in 1975, Facets Multi-Media, located at 1517 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, 60614 Facets Multi-Media is the largest conservator dedicated to the exhibition, distribution & education of foreign, independent & classic cinema...
, Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock is a nonprofit organization that provides free instruments and lessons to children in under-served public schools. The organization is supported by a number of music industry luminaries including Bonnie Raitt, Slash, Joe Satriani, BB King, Jason Newsted, Linkin Park's Brad Delson,...
, Heart of Los Angeles, MIND Institute
MIND Institute
The UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute research and treatment center affiliated with the University of California, Davis, with facilities located on the UC Davis Medical Center campus in Sacramento, California...
, the Chicago Humanities Festival
Chicago Humanities Festival
The Chicago Humanities Festival is a foundation which organizes an annual series of lectures, concerts, and films in Chicago. The main festival takes place in the first and second weeks of November. The festival was started in 1990 by the Illinois Humanities Council and became an independent...
, Rock Against Cancer, Inner-City Arts, Big Thought, IFP Chicago, Spy Hop Productions, Footlights Inc., Carolina Studios Corp and the KIPP Bayview Academy. Money is raised through sales of guitar picks, exclusive music compilations, mints, and reusable shopping bags.
International Expansion
In August 2010, Hot Topic opened two new stores in CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, 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
Square One Shopping Centre is a shopping mall located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest shopping malls in Canada, with over 1.6 million square feet of retail space and more than 360 stores and services...
in Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
, and then at Scarborough Town Centre
Scarborough Town Centre
The Scarborough Town Centre is an upscale shopping mall in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre, it is adjacent to the Scarborough Centre RT station and Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal. It was constructed by Oxford Properties and opened in...
in Toronto, Ontario the following day.