California Apparel News

Hot Topic has tapped into a growing segment of the junior market with the recent opening of one of six mall-based specialty stores dedicated to plus-size juniors.

The City of Industry, Calif.-based retailer of music-licensed and music-influenced apparel for young men and women has opened its first Torrid store in the Brea Mall.

Two years ago, the company was inundated with requests for expanded sizes, so larger sizes were tested in existing stores, according to Betsy McLaughlin, president and CEO of Hot Topic.

“Teens are larger than they have been,” said McLaughlin. “[Those who wear larger sizes] are about 30 percent of the teen population. Just because they are bigger doesn’t mean they can’t be cool.”

The store is geared to young women ages 15 to 30, which is a wider age range than Hot Topic, which targets young women and men ages 12 to 22. The product mix will also be broader, McLaughlin said, noting that apparel will fall into one of four categories: streetwear, clubwear, rockabilly and renaissance.

Torrid’s product mix will be split evenly between private label and branded merchandise. Much of the branded merchandise represents labels that only recently entered the plus-size junior market, according to McLaughlin, who noted that the first plus-size item tested at Hot Topic was a pair of vinyl pants. The company then began working with existing Hot Topic resources such as Lip Service and Kikwear to develop more plus-size items.

Hot Topic launched the first store as a test and as a precursor to the remaining five openings. McLaughlin reported that customer response to the first store has been good and is a positive indicator for the remaining five planned Torrid stores.

“We are very pleased with the opening of the first of the six test Torrid stores,” said McLaughlin. “Customer reaction to the concept, store design and merchandise selection has been very positive, with initial sales at the store and on the Web site exceeding our expectations.”

Torrid will also carry shoes, intimate apparel, accessories and gifts. The five additional stores are planned for San Diego, Calif.; Littleton, Colo.; Omaha, Neb.; Boston, Mass.; and Annapolis, Md. The new locations are scheduled to open before summer in a mix of A and B malls, and all but one of the malls currently has a Hot Topic store, McLaughlin said. The company also plans to open a Hot Topic in the Annapolis Mall this month, she said.

The company also launched an Internet retail store at [www.torrid.com], which is linked to Hot Topic’s Web site [www.hottopic.com].

New Retail Design for Hot Topic

The company also announced it has redesigned its Hot Topic retail stores. The new look is called “industrial club” and was inspired by London’s club scene.

The entrance of the new store design is a tunnel where the shopper is immediately assaulted with music upon entering. The exit of the tunnel leads the consumer directly into an area that surrounds her with merchandise. A bright red ceiling, lit by neon tubes and brick walls presenting product from floor to ceiling, adds to the club like feel. The dressing rooms add to the theme with red glitter vinyl wall coverings and red Astroturf flooring.

Hot Topic tested the design on two of its locations, Laguna Hills Mall in Laguna Hills, Calif., and Santa Rosa Plaza in Santa Rosa, Calif., in 2000. The response from customers exceeded expectations, according to the company, which plans to extend the design as standard for all 2001 store openings.

McLaughlin said 63 of the planned 65 new Hot Topic stores and five of the existing stores to be remodeled would employ the new design.

“In the future, as existing stores come up for lease renewal, we will remodel using this new design,” she said.