Retailer Observation

1. For the store observation, I went to Hollister, a clothing store aimed at teenagers that would like to be from Southern California.

2. A. The store was located in a mall. The front facade of the store was very dark, with a small porch in the front, and two entrances, one each for men and women. The porch was created to give the impression of a beach house or open-air house in warm weather.

B. The store was very loud, with what can most accurately be described as grunge-rock playing. There were several people attempting to converse, but the music made it difficult to hear.

C. The vast majority of the merchandise is laid out onto tables, with the rest along the walls and a few items on hangers. At the front of the store on the porch, there were two mannequins displaying male and female clothes. There were several sweatshirts or whatever the clothing was stacked on the tables, probably one or two of each size.

D. The floors were made out of worn wood, which added to the effort to portray the Southern California beach house image.

E. I thought that the signs in Hollister were terrible. There was a sign on the front of the store that was so small that it may well not have been there. There were very few on the inside of the store as well, and they were probably just the ones that are legally required (exits, changing rooms, etc). I found it very hard just to locate a price for some of the products.

F. The cashier area was the one part of the store that I thought was well laid out. There were several cash registers in the middle of the store, equidistant from the mens and womens areas.

3. Hollister without a doubt tries to project the image of the Southern California surfer or surfer girl. They even plaster it on their clothes (Hollister California ___ (fill in the blank)) Inside of the store, there are surfboards on display, as well as videos of surfers playing on the TVs in the store. The music playing was sort of grunge-rock/ surfari type music, which added to the image. However, I believe the pale, tanless suburbanites that wear their clothes around detract from the image they are trying to project.

4. I noticed numerous customers that seemed to be disoriented in the store, due to the lack of signs. It was also very dark, which did not help the customers navigate. Those shopping did seem to pick up and hold up items from the tables, which is something I think Underhill advocated. I observed multiple parents that entertained themselves with the cycle of surf videos while their children looked for clothes. Overall, I did not believe that Hollister was a consumer-friendly store.

5. I thought that it was interesting that Hollister was such a poorly laid-out store, yet their clothes are very popular with teenagers. I think this is due to the demographic to which Hollister markets: the older teenager that believes the SoCal lifestyle is ideal, yet most likely has never even tried to surf or visited California for more than a week. This led to the store being constructed as though it were some sort of summer home or cottage on the beach, with the appearance of a straw roof and a porch at the front of the store. The music playing was exactly what one would expect to be playing as people were driving to the beach to surf.