Hollister descends on Exeter

Hollister is not the place to go shopping if you’re hungover. 

Even before you approach you are confronted with the 56 TV screens out front, and then if you scamper inside you are overwhelmed by the arousing (but sickly) fumes of perfume, the loud music and the fit people that make you feel a bit fat and ugly.

Tongue-in-cheek aside, Exeter Uni Students are known for loving a bit of Hollister clobber and I suppose the smell is quite nice…and the music is alright. The excited crowds outside the brand new store were bubbling with anticipation even though it was the early hour of 9.30am opening on Thursday of Freshers Week (so much so two security guards came down to monitor the situation in case a riot broke out).

crowd gone wild

The staff are friendly, flip-flopped and fit. They posed for countless photos with the waiting crowd,with the two semi-naked ‘lifeguards’ being the most in demand.

Inside it is your typical Hollister. Obviously, there’s the previously mentioned nightclub atmosphere including dark light so you can’t really see, pristine folding and the beautiful people everywhere. The decoration is effectively a manor house crossed with beach hut that includes a very comfy armchair seating area complete with pot plants in the middle of the store. Add in the topless posters of All- American smiling/snogging teens hanging from the walls and the mannequins that all seem to have 15” waists and sizeable assets, you tend to leave the store intending to go on a diet.

The first purchase was a bottle of the fumes that fill the air inside the store by 16 year old Meg, who proudly told The Tab “It was my goal to get the first purchase! I’m happy.”

The Tab also spoke to Tash and Megan, both students aged 20 who said: “We’re really excited. We are both huge fans and came down specifically for the opening today.”

As well as giving us nice stuff to wear, Hollister also supports students by hiring a ton of us. The store currently has around 100 students on their books already and a staff member assured The Tab that they are always looking to recruit.

Princesshay is a great place to shop, but there was a Hollister/Abercrombie-shaped hole in the range of shops.

Wayne Pearce, Princesshay Centre Director, said: “We’re really pleased to have an internationally renowned brand joining the retail line up here at Princesshay and we welcome them here.”

The hard-to-miss store is located in Princesshay, where Warehouse and Clinton Cards used to be and is open 9.30am-6pm weekdays, 9am-6pm Saturday, 10am-4.30pm Sunday.

And…as much as I try to take the mick, I’ll probably be shopping there later this week.