Hot Topic

	It all started in 1988. A ton of teen retail accessory stores filled the malls, but there wasn’t a cool music-inspired accessory store for both guys and girls. Then came Hot Topic. As 1990 rolled around, adding apparel seemed like a no-brainer. What better way than to add the ultimate music fan essential – band tees. Imagine how our customers flipped when they were able to purchase Bauhaus, The Cure, TSOL, and Depeche Mode rock t-shirts at Hot Topic. Within a year, they had about 50 different band titles, along with rock-inspired clothing lines such as Lip Service and Serious. Today they have a growing line of apparel and accessories that includes band teens, band merch, teen retail such as shorts, swimwear, capris, pants, shoes and more. As they expanded, they discovered that customers were equally drawn to the underground cartoon, cult movie, and comic book scenes. It was a unique culture fans could call their own, so they brought the world of South Park, Care Bears, Superman, SpongeBob SquarePants and tons of other pop icons into their Hot Topic stores. At Hot Topic, you’ll find a passion for music in everything they do, and you’ll see that their customers share that same passion. It’s at HQ. It’s in their distribution centers. It’s in their products. It’s Everything About the Music.