Hollister Brings the Beach to Soho, Brah

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

As of this writing, there are only 22 days, 13 hours, and 56 minutes left until the Hollister opens on Broadway in Soho. We know this because the store has its own website which features, among other things, a countdown clock. It also prominently showcases a video in which a shirtless surfer takes a taxi from the beach to Broadway and Houston, where he gapes (still shirtless) at the building. Apparently, this moves him so deeply that he feels compelled to write a letter to a friend back home—at least, that's one way to interpret the website's "Epic Story" section, a handwritten note extolling the store's "spot-on" SoCal vibe. Writes the surfer, "Everyone who works there is hot as hell—it looks like how you wish everyone looked at the beach. No grumpy old ladies screamin' at kids." Yes! But the best line comes early on: "What hit me first is the smell—which is awesome." Brace.
· Ride the Wave [Official Site]
· Previous Hollister coverage [Racked]