Hot Topic, Inc. is an American fast-fashion company specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in alternative music, anime, and video gaming, and most of their audience ranges from teens to young adults. In 2007, approximately 40% of Hot Topic's revenue came from sales of licensed band T-shirts. The majority of the stores are located in regional shopping malls.[3]
History
The first Hot Topic store was opened in November 1989 in Montclair Plaza, Montclair, California,[4] by Orv Madden, a former executive at The Children's Place, who retired as CEO in 2000 and was replaced by Betsy McLaughlin, who headed the company until 2011. Lisa Harper assumed the position of CEO in March 2011 until Steve Vranes was announced as the new CEO in 2016. The company went public and began trading on NASDAQ in 1996.
In 2013, Hot Topic announced its sale to