Odd fit: Hollister, Calif. vs. Abercrombie

Don't believe everything you see in a clothing catalog, folks. Abercrombie & Fitch, the preppy, pretty-boy (and girl) Ohio-based clothing empire started its surf-wear style Hollister line in 2000. But, as Times business reporter Hugo Martín notes today, you're unlikely to find any of the "idyllic Southern California beach town" in Hollister, Calif. -- "incorporated in 1872, birthplace of American biker culture and inspiration for the 1953 film 'The Wild One,' starring Marlon Brando."

Martín adds that Abercrombie isn't as peaceful and sunny as its marketing team suggests, saying "residents say Abercrombie & Fitch has hijacked the town's name and threatened to sue merchants who sell clothes displaying it. Even worse, the company has refused to open an outlet that could help boost the slumping local economy."

"If they try, they would get a call and much more," David Cupps, general counsel for Abercrombie & Fitch tells Martín.

Them sounds like fighting words. But do you really want to take on a town known for motorcycle skirmishes?

So who's right? Should Abercrombie -- whose executives, to their credit, claim they came up with the name on their own --  be the only ones allowed to use the term? Read the rest of the article, then share your comments below.

-- Whitney Friedlander

Hollister, Calif., is at odds with Abercrombie over name

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Photo caption: Hollister, Calif., is a quiet agricultural town northeast of Monterey, surrounded by farmland. It’s a far cry from the imaginary beach town created by Abercrombie & Fitch for its line of surf-inspired clothing. Credit: Dave Getzschman / For The Times

Comments

[Andrew]

Acutally, according to Wikipedia:

"Opened its first store in July 2000[1] at the Easton Town Center in Columbus, Ohio.[8][9] The concept was formulated around a fictional background story created by Mike Jeffries to provide more of an atmosphere for the HCO shopper.

The fictional story states Hollister was founded by J.M. Hollister in 1922 as a pacific merchant shop in SoCal. All of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s spin-off brands have an accompanying fictional background (including RUEHL No.925 and Gilly Hicks). HCO's rapid success led Abercrombie & Fitch Co. to notice that the HCO brand was eating into the revenue of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand, referred to as a cannibalism effect. In order to properly distinguish A&F from HCO, higher-grade materials and construction were introduced strictly in the production of A&F clothing and goods, thus raising the prices of the latter.

In early 2009, Abercrombie & Fitch decided to rename the brand Hollister California. It is told the rename is to emphasize the store's new look and feel."

Abercrombie & Fitch actually does have outlet stores. I've been to an Abercrombie & Fitch outlet, an abercrombie outlet, and a Hollister Co outlet.

[Brady Westwater]

The name has nothing to do with the town of Hollister. The brand was named after the Hollister Ranch in Santa Barbara which - as any local knows - has been a long time surfing destination.

[Jean SmilingCoyote]

To those of us educated in the geology of California, Hollister is celebrated in many textbooks for the fault creep occurring there, on the Calaveras Fault.

[Sharlene Van Rooy]

Hollister, CA was home to the Gypsy Motorcycle Tours for many years and it was not until 1947 that things got out of hand. Depending on who you talk to, depends on how out of hand things really were, but the young man standing in the background of the famous Life Magazine photo insists that he watched as the photo was staged. It was not until 1997 that Hollister celebrated the 50th anniversary of the 1947 "riots". The city contined to celebrate every year after that until 2006 when City Council decided the event would not be sanctioned. In 2007 and 2008 the event tried to gain momentum again, but organizers were forced to change the layout for safety reasons, and the Rally was just not the same.

[Brad]

This is ridiculous. Agreed with another writer, A&F did NOT invent the name through serendipity or hellish marketing meetings. It is about a long known surf spot in SB.

The sad thing is that A&F are trying to prevent a city's merchants and local businesses form putting their own city's name on clothes. I live in Hollister, CA and like any city, youth sports, local t-shirt printers, schools, etc. put Hollister on their clothing jut like every other city. I would assert that we have the right to make whatever we want as long as we are not selling against them For craps sake we are tiny little town.

That is like starting a store called San Francisco, trademarking the name and then suing every t-shirt and attraction in vendor San Francisco in San Francisco over the name.

If our we had a commercial airport, would we not be allowed to sell t-shirts with the city name on it like EVERY airport in America

Typical suits............

[anita]

Hollister town and Hollister ranch are the same person/family. First he (J.J. Hollister) created the town then he bought the ranch land and renamed it.