Hot Topic

Hot Topic

Hot Topic, Inc., a retail chain operating almost 200 stores in malls nationwide, occupies a unique space within the apparel industry: it is the only large national chain that caters exclusively to the 'alternative' lifestyle trends of teenagers and young adults. Specializing in such merchandise as body jewelry, artificial tattoos, multi-hued hair-dye, and unisex, music-influenced apparel, Hot Topic proves that shock value can lead to stock value, with the company generating revenue into the hundreds of millions of dollars after little more than a decade in business. The company occupies and has helped to create a singular, rapidly expanding niche market in the retail industry, and makes no secret of the fact that its targeted market is one usually shunned by more traditional merchants. Founded by retail veteran Orv Madden, Hot Topic devotes itself equally to the sale of trendy, MTV-influenced apparel and novelty items, some of which are marketed under the company's own label. The retailer went public in 1996 and has a goal of opening 500 stores before the year 2010.

The Founding of Hot Topic: 1989 to 1994

Hot Topic was founded by Orv Madden in 1989, after the executive became aware of the marketing opportunities which had been created by MTV and other popular forms of alternative youth culture. Previous to starting Hot Topic, Madden had spent the entirety of his working life in the retail industry. A native of Alton, Iowa, Madden earned his MBA from the prestigious University of Chicago and eventually earned a position as vice-president of the Federated Department Stores' Children's Place and Accessory Place divisions, a title he held for six years. While Madden's retail experience well prepared him to strike out on his own, it was his personal drive and lifelong devotion to contemporary music that allowed him to see the market niche Hot Topic would eventually fill.

During the 1980s, when MTV first made its presence felt in modern music and culture,...