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Location: Blogs Sean O'Brien's Blog |
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| Posted by: Sean Obrien |
1/2/2008 |
My daughter notifies me that all the “popular girls” at school are wearing Hollister and that she wants to shop there too. She tells me this while we’re in the car checking the surf and I nearly run off the road.
"That ain't going to happen," I growl, looking back at her with a scowl that was needlessly severe in retrospect.
Now, Hollister has done a fine job in merchandising and product assortment. Its retail stores have a distinct vibe that’s far more appealing than most "company stores" I live close to. They've been far more successful than I imagined they would be when they came on to the scene in 2002.
So the fact that my ten year old is interested in the brand should have come as no surprise -- but it was.
I explain to her how the entire surf industry was grown from the trunk of a car by surfers and skaters who, for the most part, are still involved with the day-to-day management of the companies they built.
I tell her that "real" brands support athletes and events and movies -- not just because it's "good marketing" but because the people in charge still get a thrill seeing the best surfers and skaters, wakeboarders and snowboarders, do their thing. That they understand you can't just “pretend” to care. That there actually is more to a label than a bit of thread. That you can't get fooled by giant corporate shenanigans.
Now I've really worked myself into a lather. "And if real companies didn't exist, the whole market would collapse and all the retailers that make a living off of this true and real and authentic thing would die. Would you like it if shops like K-Five and Sun Diego (her two favorites) closed because you had to follow what a bunch of clueless popular girls thought was cool? Would you like that!? Huh!?”
Suddenly I realize that I’m raving like a lunatic. Sheepishly, I look back at her and she rolls her eyes at me. There is a long, long silence.
“Uh, surf’s kinda flat today, isn’t it?” I mutter.
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Comments (5)
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Re: No Hollister In My House |
By kevin on
1/2/2008 |
| i lost that argument also |
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Re: No Hollister In My House |
By Pol "Charlie" Pot on
1/3/2008 |
| Hollister Don't Surf |
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Re: No Hollister In My House |
By Dave H on
1/7/2008 |
| I thought it was Tilly Don't Surf? |
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Re: No Hollister In My House |
By Tiger Woods on
1/7/2008 |
| Yeah, but have you seen her swing a golf club? |
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Re: No Hollister In My House |
By Brad on
1/10/2008 |
| You got a gun for that hollister??? |
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