Hollister Co. - the USA hits the UK

Hollister, the Californian fashion label owned by famous brand Abercrombie and Fitch is starting to launch itself across the UK, with one recently opening in Cabot Circus, Bristol. I have always been addicted to buying A&F and Hollister clothing when I'm over in the states not only for the clothes itself but also the brand packaging, I've even been known to go and buy products separately to get more carrier bags!

After buying something in there last week I made sure to get a large carrier and picked up a business card and gift card to show you how good, consistent, and loyal to the original brand their branding is as well as the quality of it all. As I mentioned in a previous post (Jack Wills Seasonnaires Clothing I believe), I am big on fashion branding especially labels and carriers and I think American companies like Hollister have a lot to show UK companies in terms of quality branding and the 'free' products which often get neglected as the emphasis is on the clothing itself.

The carrier is a sturdy paper bag which far outweighs the plastic carriers more stores use. Not only better for the environment, they have a luxurious, quality feel to them linking to the more 'exclusive' nature of their products to the UK market. Having bags that are sturdy also ensures constant 'advertising' through reuse of bags not only for convenience, but also the 'kudos' of owning products from these companies is flaunted through reuse of their bags. The gift card follows suit using the same textured brown paper look with gloss print of the logo which keeps the brand consistency. The card itself lets the whole aesthetic down a little but keeps the brand look of beautiful people in beautiful clothes together and also adds to the aspiration of a lifestyle associated with the clothes. The sepia tone helps it stay in keeping with the earthy tones of the brown, maroon/red/brown, and warm grey used across all the elements of the brand. The business card is a little more classy but still keeps the warm tones but in a more classic cream stock rather than the 'trendy' brown paper.

All of these little touches make you want to show off the things you can get free rather than a plastic carrier and boring grey-white receipt that just get thrown away straight away and so are a great marketing technique for Hollister, advertising and marketing for free.

Find your nearest Hollister store or browse online here:
http://www.hollisterco.com/

The freebies: