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Stinky Stores

post #1 of 37
9/21/09 at 2:56pm
Thread Starter 
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/loca...Yn8assOGQwksML

An article about Hollister pumping out its fragrance and stinking out people .

I know that I have to avoid Abercrombie & Fitch because they pump out tons of fragrance - I literally walk on the other side of the mall to avoid it because the scent gives me migraines ! ( My husband thinks the A&F scent smells of wet cardboard.)
Hollister is the other one guilty of this.
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post #2 of 37
9/22/09 at 1:27am
I'm pretty sure that A&F and Hollister are part of the same company. Someone needs to alert management that their stinky strategy isn't working, lol!
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post #3 of 37
9/22/09 at 5:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by JitterpigJen View Post

I'm pretty sure that A&F and Hollister are part of the same company. Someone needs to alert management that their stinky strategy isn't working, lol!

There's a Basenoter who gets more requests to send out A & F's Fierce than for anything else in his substantial collection.

I learned from ubu that Westin hotels also have a signature scent. It's a white tea fragrance, subtle & clean, and they even sell a "scent system" for your home.
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post #4 of 37
9/22/09 at 6:07am
Abercrombie...heh heh my daughter and I have our own name for that store: Übercrummy
Maybe they should be Übercrummy & Stink?
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post #5 of 37
9/22/09 at 6:23am
I read that too and discussed this with my 13 year old daughter last night. She hates that Abercrombie/Hollister scent, but she says the boys her age LOVE it. Her theory is that to them, anything that is not stinky feet, foul hockey bags (a uniquely Canadian smell- likened to an open grave) or smelly lockers smells good to them LOL

My friend says her vehicle stinks like the shops for days after a shopping trip fills the car with Abercrombie bags.

It would seem that marketing to teens/young adults means excess. The extreme scent and the LOUD MUSIC in stores that appeal to the age group seems universal.

Would seem Axe body sprays took their cues from these scents. Funny, my daughters and their girlfriends cannot stand Axe and the like.
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post #6 of 37
9/22/09 at 6:28am
Quote:
Funny, my daughters and their girlfriends cannot stand Axe and the like.

Thus keeping a longstanding tradition of teenage boys demonstrating that they have absolutely ZERO idea as to what girls like.

I grew up in a hockey family, and fully concur with the statement that there is very little in this world as foul as a boy's hockey equipment. Seriously. (shudders)

I remember Abercrombie and Fitch back in its original incarnation, when it was the go-to place for bamboo-and-brass golf clubs, imported fox hunting gear, and other upperclass twit sporting goods. Sigh. (Same era when Banana Republic's name made sense: it was all khaki safari gear and the stores had hay on the floor and an old jeep in the back full of bandolier-style belts.....)
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post #7 of 37
9/22/09 at 7:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3xasif View Post

foul hockey bags (a uniquely Canadian smell- likened to an open grave)

Wow, as soon as I read that I could literally smell that. Sort of like that heavy acidic/rancid old sweat and hockey pads smell... You know, this whole scent thing really does trigger memories!
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post #8 of 37
9/22/09 at 7:06am
How long have Hollisters and A&F been doing this? If it's more than a few months, then it may be a commercial success.

I like the idea of adding scent to public places. Tang mentioned Westin Hotels with their won scent. The Wailua Marriot added a very respectable jasmine to the air circulating around their reception area. (Of course it helps that hotels in Hawaii are open to the outside, so the chemicals don't pile up.)

Is anyone else doing this?
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post #9 of 37
9/22/09 at 7:10am
A&F stores always smell hideous. However, I do not mind Hollister as much (at least where I am staying at the moment - Central Illinois). In fact, SoCal is pretty good, IMO, and I have no problem with it at all.
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post #10 of 37
9/22/09 at 8:11am
Thread Starter 
I really really hate the A & F smell and Hollister- I can feel my migraine coming on just thinking about it. I thought the two companies might be related because they are quite similar.
So the A & F scent is called Fierce ????? How appropriate .....
I suppose 'some' scent is OK but A & F's is so nauseating .........

PS. Did anyone have problems accessing Basenotes yesterday afternoon- I couldn't get through till night time. Oh the withdrawals !!!)
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post #11 of 37
9/22/09 at 9:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Master-Classter View Post

Wow, as soon as I read that I could literally smell that. Sort of like that heavy acidic/rancid old sweat and hockey pads smell... You know, this whole scent thing really does trigger memories!

Oh my. Yes, I work in real estate and have had to ask clients to leave the hockey bags in the garage while we try to sell their house
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post #12 of 37
9/22/09 at 11:13am
Thread Starter 
Wow ! Hockey bags must be baaaaad ! We are talking ice hockey ,yes ? I want to smell one of those bags just because.......
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post #13 of 37
9/22/09 at 11:17am
[QUOTE=3xasif;1623200]I read that too and discussed this with my 13 year old daughter last night. She hates that Abercrombie/Hollister scent, but she says the boys her age LOVE it. Her theory is that to them, anything that is not stinky feet, foul hockey bags (a uniquely Canadian smell- likened to an open grave) or smelly lockers smells good to them LOL
QUOTE]

The sickly sweet smell of death? ROTFL!
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post #14 of 37
9/22/09 at 1:41pm
Ah yes, when I'm in the mall, I avoid Hollister and A&F like the plague. The only time I ever went into a Hollister, I felt like I had stepped into a twisted version of a "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel with a touch of Dante's Inferno, there's all these different rooms and it's all dark, I don't get it. I like to see what I'm buying, and to not feel confused/irritated when I'm shopping. Whenever I pass by the stores, it always feels like they're trying to create a club atmosphere for the underage, minus the alcohol spilled all over the floor. I mean, they've already got the stinky cologne...
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post #15 of 37
9/22/09 at 1:51pm
Here's another article (apologies if it's already been posted):

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/fa...ewanted=1&_r=1

"Here the store also sells its California fragrance, which is spritzed on the mannequins every hour; its a noxious concoction that, I assume, is distilled from mink sex glands and the tears of broken-hearted teenage girls." *LOL!*
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post #16 of 37
9/22/09 at 1:54pm
I don't mind any of these stores' over-scented atmosphere - the thing I cannot stand is the crappy music played at ten thousand decibels...and worse than that; the poor service!
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post #17 of 37
9/22/09 at 2:04pm
Quote:
On the way down I stopped in the fragrance room and sampled the Laguna Beach body mist. It smelled like Jolly Ranchers being breathed on my face by Hayden Panettiere.

That describes PERFECTLY about 85% of the female fragrance market today! LOL
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post #18 of 37
9/22/09 at 2:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticknot View Post

Wow ! Hockey bags must be baaaaad ! We are talking ice hockey ,yes ? I want to smell one of those bags just because.......

Maybe ELDO can make an edt out of this smell.
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post #19 of 37
9/22/09 at 2:20pm
I don't fit the demographic!
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post #20 of 37
9/22/09 at 2:23pm
This has been going on for YEARS. I learned about this a years ago (9 or 10?) when the Abercrombie at Easton Town Center in Northeast Columbus, Ohio opened. As the company is based in Columbus, this was their flagship store and the opening was a big deal. The perfume flooded the streets for days. Ugh.
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post #21 of 37
9/22/09 at 2:25pm
Now, now, Kumquat....you and I both fit in one of the demographics mentioned: Moms sitting in chairs outside the waiting rooms, patiently reading magazines.
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post #22 of 37
9/22/09 at 3:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticknot View Post

Wow ! Hockey bags must be baaaaad ! We are talking ice hockey ,yes ? I want to smell one of those bags just because.......

Actually, at my business school feasibility study competition, one of the winning groups was for a hockey shaped "deodorizer" for hockey bags. Everyone needs one, and it's a great razors and blades model


Quote:
It smelled like Jolly Ranchers being breathed on my face by Hayden Panettiere.

So... what's the problem? ;-) I'd take that any day!
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post #23 of 37
9/23/09 at 3:39am
It's been done by stores for years. We don't have A&F and Hollister stores in the Scotland but from what I've read about Hollister is that it's all about "brand association"

Staff in the Diesel stores in the UK were told to spray their fragrances around the store every half hour. I think at the time it would have been Diesel Plus Plus (Milk bottle/carton one)

Still there is nothing worse than walking by the Thierry Mugler counter in a dept store. They always have about 3 times the amount of SA's any other brand has, and all of them are trying to douse you in Angel. And their talk is crap too it's always "Have you tried Angel?" or "Have you smelt Angel?" is there anyone out there who hasn't smelt it?
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post #24 of 37
9/23/09 at 4:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ubuandibeme View Post

I don't mind any of these stores' over-scented atmosphere - the thing I cannot stand is the crappy music played at ten thousand decibels...and worse than that; the poor service!

LOL, I was thinking the same thing. I used to be a DJ, and so I know what loud music is supposed to sound like - but it aint supposed to be assaulting you while you shop for clothes.
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post #25 of 37
9/23/09 at 5:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by monsieur_sparkle View Post

Maybe ELDO can make an edt out of this smell.

OMG it could actually be worse than Secretions

Quote:
Originally Posted by Master-Classter View Post

Actually, at my business school feasibility study competition, one of the winning groups was for a hockey shaped "deodorizer" for hockey bags. Everyone needs one, and it's a great razors and blades model

That is a very cool idea!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andyjreid View Post

Still there is nothing worse than walking by the Thierry Mugler counter in a dept store. They always have about 3 times the amount of SA's any other brand has, and all of them are trying to douse you in Angel. And their talk is crap too it's always "Have you tried Angel?" or "Have you smelt Angel?" is there anyone out there who hasn't smelt it?

I totally agree. Apologies to Angel lovers but that stuff is vile, linear and smells the same on every single person who wears it. If you think it's just a lovely patch or *insert note here* on you- wrong!!! I can spot it a mile away

*runs*
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post #26 of 37
9/23/09 at 6:05am
I maybe biased about the scent because of this but this really cute red-head that I hang out with once in a while really LOVES the scent.
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post #27 of 37
9/23/09 at 7:53am
Yes, Abercrombie and Hollister Co. are owned by the same company, along with Gilly Hicks and Ruehl No. 925. (Ruehl is being phased out, and I'm not sure if Gilly Hicks has a fragrance.)

Here in Fort Wayne, at Glenbrook Square, we have both Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister. You can smell the A&F Fierce all the way into the Barnes & Noble Cafe across the mall hallway, and right as you enter the mall in that entrance. Not that I don't like Fierce (it's a good scent in the Platinum Egoiste/MI/Unforgivable genre), but it's potent enough to make me not wear Fierce.

OTOH, Hollister's smell isn't as strong, but it is in the dreaded aquatic olfactory genre. But since Hollister is near the food court, the delicious smells from Panda Express, Sbarro, and others counteract what Hollister has to offer in a jiffy, even though Hollister is one level up from the food court. So you can't smell Hollister's scent at Glenbrook unless you're actually in the store.
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post #28 of 37
9/23/09 at 8:04am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anna_P View Post

Here's another article (apologies if it's already been posted):

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/20/fa...ewanted=1&_r=1

"Here the store also sells its California fragrance, which is spritzed on the mannequins every hour; it’s a noxious concoction that, I assume, is distilled from mink sex glands and the tears of broken-hearted teenage girls." *LOL!*

Anna - that was a good article and a great picture with it too. I don't mind stores sprizing scent as long as it's more subliminal and less in your face .
A & F and their scent policy kind of invades personal space .
I agree also that Hollister's scent is less offensive.

Can you imagine what it was like at the mall this summer here in the central valley . The A/C is not working very well because it's crowded and A and F are pumping out Fierce like there's no tomorrow . It's killing .
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post #29 of 37
9/23/09 at 12:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticknot View Post

Anna - that was a good article and a great picture with it too. I don't mind stores sprizing scent as long as it's more subliminal and less in your face .
A & F and their scent policy kind of invades personal space .
I agree also that Hollister's scent is less offensive.

Can you imagine what it was like at the mall this summer here in the central valley . The A/C is not working very well because it's crowded and A and F are pumping out Fierce like there's no tomorrow . It's killing .

Yikes! And yes, I agree, the idea of the scent and whatever else they're doing doesn't bother me per se, but overall it's just much too much. I haven't been out of the target demographic for A&F and Hollister for that long and even when I was, the combination of the too much of everything did the opposite of inducing me to buy. I've actually heard of other retail outlets scenting their environments as well, I think The Sony Store of all places was one of them.
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post #30 of 37
9/23/09 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anna_P View Post

I've actually heard of other retail outlets scenting their environments as well, I think The Sony Store of all places was one of them.

You are correct about Sony Style stores scenting their environments. But I can tell you one thing for sure: it's not as strong as Abercrombie.

The Sony Style store in Indianapolis (next to a Sephora, of all places) has a very subtle, not overpowering smell that I can liken to root beer.
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post #31 of 37
9/23/09 at 1:01pm
Thread Starter 
I have read that there is proof that scent can change moods and induce buying ,etc. I liken it to aromatherapy .

This is another little article- http://www.prlog.org/10349693-busine...ning-post.html

So it would be stupid for companies not to try it out ....however, A & F ....please just tone it down a little so my nose and brain are not fried ? Also try something like lemon instead of Fierce.
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post #32 of 37
9/23/09 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3xasif View Post

... foul hockey bags (a uniquely Canadian smell- likened to an open grave) ...

HAH! Oh Canada,
true north pong and free...
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post #33 of 37
9/24/09 at 8:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by odysseusm View Post

HAH! Oh Canada,
true north pong and free...

Oh no! LOL imagine if Sports Check or Athlete's World decided to incorporate Eau de Hockey bag in their stores
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post #34 of 37
9/25/09 at 8:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3xasif View Post

Oh no! LOL imagine if Sports Check or Athlete's World decided to incorporate Eau de Hockey bag in their stores

Shilled by Don Cherry, of course Canadian in-joke
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post #35 of 37
9/25/09 at 8:30am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by odysseusm View Post

Shilled by Don Cherry, of course Canadian in-joke

Being ignorant .....I looked up Don Cherry -a very interesting life he has had .

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post #36 of 37
9/26/09 at 8:50am
Nothing worse than the A /F and Hollister with the loud music and whaffting smells!
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post #37 of 37
9/26/09 at 10:30am
...and, I wonder if it might end up backfiring a bit....I mean, perhaps they get some impulse sales. "Oh, I like that smell, I'll take it!" But I suspect we will see more and more statements like those that regularly appear on the Just Starting Out forum. "I like Fierce, but I really don't want to spend all that money to smell like the mall."

By using their perfume to scent their stores, hey run the risk of making shoppers think that their fragrances smell like air freshener.
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