Key people Lisa Harper Customer service 00 1 626-709-1237 Founded 2001 Type of business Limited liability company | Website torrid.com Founder Hot Topic Number of locations 400 | |
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Products Plus-size clothing, gifts Headquarters Industry, California, United States Revenue 725.1 million USD (FY '05) Profiles | ||
Torrid is a women's retail chain formerly owned by Hot Topic. While it is still under the same parent umbrella as Hot Topic, in 2015 the company branched off to become Torrid, LLC. The store offers plus-size clothing and accessories for women and teenage girls sizes 10- 30. Torrid began operations in April 2001. The first location opened in the Brea Mall in Brea, California. As of 2016, Torrid has over 400 stores in operation across 36 states in the United States. Torrid opened its first store location in Canada (Toronto) in August 2015.
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Products
The store's clothing styles are aimed at women. In 2005, Torrid expanded its merchandise selection to include styles distinct from its parent company, Hot Topic. Torrid sells accessories, shoes, jewelry, novelty tee shirts, fashion tops, pants, Capri pants, shorts, skirts, dresses, outerwear, intimate apparel, hosiery, gifts, and beauty products. Torrid follows the Hot Topic merchandise strategy of monitoring fashion trends closely, utilizing direct communication between customers, employees and corporate personnel to be in step with current fashion.
Models
In February 2014, Georgina Burke was named the first face of Torrid and signed a one-year contract. In December 2014, Philomena Kwao was signed as a second face of Torrid.
In 2015, Torrid launched their first model search, inviting customers to apply and audition to become the next face of Torrid. Over 14,000 people auditioned, with the winner being Lyanna Lynette. In May 2016, it was announced that the brand would be doing a second model search to find their spokesmodel for 2017.