Hot Topic joins resale trend
Hot Topic Inc. is partnering with a third-party platform to offer a 360-resale program.
The specialty mall retailer of officially licensed entertainment and music merchandise is teaming up with ThredUp, an online resale platform for women's and kids' apparel, shoes, and accessories, to introduce "Hot Topic Replay," a 360-resale program that allows customers to shop secondhand products directly through the Hot Topic website and resell apparel for Hot Topic credit.
"Hot Topic Replay" is enabled by ThredUp’s Resale-as-a-Service (RaaS) solution, which delivers scalable, customizable resale offerings for retailers. In addition to purchasing secondhand products at hottopic.thredup.com, customers in the U.S. can earn shopping credit for used items by generating a prepaid shipping label from the site, filling any shippable box or bag with women's and kid's items from any brand in their closet, and shipping it to ThredUp for free. Customers receive Hot Topic shopping credit for items sold on ThredUp, that can be used both online and in-store.
"Incorporating resale into our business model is another step towards sustainability and an exciting opportunity for our customers. The launch of Hot Topic Replay provides our customers the ability to give their pop culture merchandise a second life," said Steve Vranes, CEO of Hot Topic. "Leveraging ThredUp's RaaS was the right decision for us as they have more than a decade of experience powering resale at scale and were able to get us up and running in a short period of time."
"Hot Topic is a brand that has maintained cultural relevance across decades. Their finger is on the pulse when it comes to younger shoppers who value self-expression and individuality or are seeking a dose of nostalgia," said James Reinhart, CEO of ThredUp. "We're thrilled to enable Hot Topic Replay and believe that entering resale will help Hot Topic build brand affinity among customers who are on the hunt for that unique band tee or collectible item, while also serving as a new growth channel for the business."
Hot Topic launches livestreaming
Earlier this year, Hot Topic introduced livestreaming shopping events for its brands Hot Topic, BoxLunch, and Her Universe as part of a series of planned digital-first marketing and merchandising initiatives for 2022. The company will leverage its music and pop culture branding to hold live shopping events featuring guest influencer hosts, exclusive merchandise offerings, and special giveaways.
During 2022, the company. has also relaunched the native Hot Topic app, launched a music-focused channel on Instagram, and established an anime-focused server on the Discord platform. Hot Topic Inc. says its social media influencer community now consists of over 2,000 influencers with 200 million in combined TikTok reach, and will double this year.
Hot Topic Inc. is comprised of three unique brands: Hot Topic, BoxLunch, and Her Universe. Based in Los Angeles, the company operates a digital commerce platform as well as 800 Hot Topic and BoxLunch stores.