They used to be a store for the goth subculture. They carried not only goth fashions but also goth music. They built a good reputation and had a distinct market niche because they were the only place in the mall you could get actual goth stuff. They actually made the subculture accessible to people.

And, then, at some point, they stopped caring. They stopped carrying goth music and switched their fashions over to generic "edgy" stuff. They stopped carrying anything belonging to a subculture or anything, and they became just another Spencer's knockoff for kids to buy stuff their parents won't approve of.

I shudder to think what will happen if Hot Topic applies this model to ThinkGeek. ThinkGeek has done a good job of, well, doing what Hot Topic used to do: sell products associated with a subculture and make that subculture accessible to people. I'd hate to see it diluted like Hot Topic has been...

For me, ThinkGeek is increasingly catering to a kind of mainstream, pop-culture "geek" subculture that's focused around watching TV more than anything. It's already gone through the same transition that Hot Topic went through. So it's a perfect fit.

Not at all:

http://www.aaanything.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Onion_W...

I wonder if this was the result of a change in management, or if the store has always just followed the trends. Now that I think about it, that probably is exactly it. It's even right in the name, "Hot Topic", following fads. That said, I don't have a lot of hope for this particular acquisition.

I found this photo, which resembles the aforementioned "bright" Hot Topic, but is actually quite a bit less peppy than the one I saw[1]. Contrast this with the typical Hot Topic of my youth[2].

[0] - http://www.claires.com/us/ [1] - http://www.protectshareholderrights.com/sites/default/files/... [2] - http://a.scpr.org/i/716075979884c2a7627a21b628ae0f77/95578-f...

They're awesome, though. They've been old-school goths since the 80s and 90s, and I prefer being around them to being around the younger scene kids.

Can't say I blame them as I'd imagine that's usually true.

That's the definition of niches: they're not the majority.

PS: I think it is to the detriment of the company when this "blanding" is overdone (e.g. Hot Topic) vs when mixed with a revitalizing sub-group (e.g. Sony Pictures Classics) that keeps that DNA available to the larger company (and provides a reference to measure how watered down your main product actually is).

I like a lot of things in both the ThinkGeek and Hot Topic stores. However, I've always been dismayed at the commodification of what it means to be a "geek." I used to be able to assume that someone who was a geek/nerd at least understood basic science and the epistemology of science. Now, you can't assume anyone who calls themselves those things realizes the relative magnitudes of the speed of light and the speed of sound, or that you don't turn into a block of ice in 2 seconds after jumping out an airlock, or what happens with pressure in a column of water regardless of shape.

I used to remember how someone in goth finery started to explain what he thought was the goth scene's connection to 19th century literature.

What forms of signalling actually mean anything anymore?

/me shrugs