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It all started in 1988. Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi were #1 on the charts, and hair scrunchies, bolo ties and aviator sunglasses were everywhere. A ton of junior accessory and apparel chain stores filled shopping malls, but there wasn’t a cool accessory store for both guys and girls. Then came Hot Topic.
In the fall of 1989, Hot Topic opened its doors in Westminster, California, it was as huge as they had hoped with hundreds of teens clawing their way into the store. Sales were disappointing. Some days they barely made a hundred bucks. Was founder Orv Madden’s vision doomed? It was time to take a step back and re-evaluate. First, the location in the mall wasn’t the best. Then they looked at what was selling- costume jewelry. Hot Topic started buying more stuff like cross necklaces, unisex earrings and leather bracelets and got rid of hair scrunchies, men’s ties and dress socks. Hot Topic found a niche and its name was music-influenced accessories. Whether it was fingerless gloves like Billy Idol or glam metal bootstraps like Poison, music was definitely the driving force behind teen fashion. After Westminster customers gave them a reality check, the company packed their bags, moved to Montclair, California and rocked their mall with the first Hot Topic store to carry all music-influenced accessories for teens.
As business increased in 1990, adding apparel seemed like a no-brainer, and what better way than to add the ultimate music fan essential-rock tees. At the time, finding a rock tee wasn’t easy. You had to buy ‘em from catalogs, small record stores or at concerts. It was unheard of to see a rock tee at the mall, so imagine how customers flipped when they were able to purchase Bauhaus, The Cure, TSOL and Depeche Mode T-shirts at Hot Topic. Not surprisingly, these 4 titles blew out, so more alternative bands were added. Within a year, Hot Topic had about 50 different band titles, and rock-inspired clothing lines like Lip Service...