Hollister Newcastle opens 15 April

Promo shot for Hollister's spring collection

Eldon Square’s new Apple Store may have attracted the most buzz at the opening of St Andrew’s Way back in February, but it’s Hollister that’s still dominating traffic to Soult’s Retail View, ahead of its opening on 15 April. 

Since the store’s imminent arrival was announced barely three months ago, an incredible 1,755 visitors have reached this blog after Googling ‘hollister newcastle’, closely followed by ‘hollister eldon square’ (324), ‘hollister newcastle opening’ (139) and ‘hollister in newcastle’ (117).

Echoing what I wrote in a previous post, I suspect – based on the imagery being used to promote the retailer’s spring collection – that I am neither young enough nor glamorous enough to be part of Hollister’s target market. However, I’ll certainly be curious to drop by when the store opens – on 15 April – to see what all the fuss is about, assuming of course that I can get through all the crowds. The fact that the Hollister Newcastle Facebook fan page already has 431 fans signed up (most of them indeed young and glamorous) merely reinforces my impression that Hollister coming to Eldon Square really is seen as a big deal indeed.

One unintended consequence of being the top Google result for ‘hollister newcastle’ is that I’ve been getting a steady stream of emails from people asking how they can get a job at the store (try here) or when it’s going to be opening (15 April). As a blogger, I’ve quickly come to realise that you do get some slightly off-piste enquiries, mostly from people who seemingly cannot distinguish between someone, like me, who is merely writing about a particular retailer, and someone (not me) who represents the retailer itself.

In some ways, it will be quite a relief when Hollister in Newcastle finally opens its doors – on 15 April – and I can turn my attention to other areas of retail interest. In the meantime, you can bet that there’ll still be someone who drops me a line asking when the store’s going to open…