All of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s spin-off brands have an elaborate pseudo-history (including RUEHL No.925 and Gilly Hicks) to give meaning and feeling to the brand image of the Hollister conceptional character named John M. Hollister.[9] An adventurous youth, he spent his youth practicing sports in the waters of Maine.[9] He graduated from Yale University in 1915 at the age of 21.[9] Not wanting the high-life his father established for him in Manhattan, the young man boarded a succession of steamboats, finally arriving in the Dutch East Indies by 1917.[9] There, he bought a rubber plantation from the fictitious Gregory Van Gilder, and soon came to know and love Gilder's daughter, Meta.[9] Afterwards, Hollister sold the land, and with half of the money purchased a 50-foot (15 m) schooner on which he and Meta spent two years sailing the South Pacific Ocean treasuring the diverse cultures. John and Meta harboured in Los Angeles in 1919, and married in the late fall. John M. Hollister, Jr. was born in 1920, and after "discovering California and himself" with his love for the South Pacific in mind John Sr. established Hollister Co. in 1922 in Laguna Beach. The company became purveyors of South Pacific treasures (hand-crafted furniture, jewelry, linens, and artifacts from all the islands). The company changed after John M. Hollister, Jr. took over the business in 1957, bringing surf apparel and equipment into the inventory. Only in fantasy is the company said to be still managed by the Hollisters Abercrombie & Fitch Co. calls the story "a story of passion, youth and love of the sea [carrying] the harmony of romance, beauty, adventure."
The story is not made publicly available but it helps tie in many elements of the brand with what was, in reality, conceived by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in the 21st century. The Hollister Co. brand is marketed as being established in 1922, and the date is found on the labels and designs of the merchandise. The store is designed to simulate the feeling of being in a surf shop. Furthermore, the story of the character John Jr. being a renowned surfer is on the back of Jake cologne packaging.
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