As a fan of both The Row and Elizabeth & James, I got very excited when I heard that Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen signed a deal with J.C. Penney Co. Inc. to launch a lower priced line. Unfortunately, the CFDA member designers will not be doing a Rodarte for Target or Jimmy Choo for H&M-esque limited edition collection for JC Penney – rather, they’ll be designing a junior brand called Olsenboye exclusively for the chain.
Slated to hit some 600 JC Penney stores in February, there is major push behind the line’s debut, including a teaser video for the preview collection on olsenboye.com, broadcast spots, magazine print ads, direct-mail pieces, a digital campaign on jcp.com, Penney’s teen Facebook page and Twitter, and an Olsenboye truck driving around New York selling merchandise and giving out cupcakes, balloons and pins. Empty racks in 50 stores – where the line will be sold as of November 6th for a limited time – will be covered in Olsenboye shrouds. The collection will also be up on jcp.com starting on November 6th for a limited time before the February launch.
The line is described as “a casual sportswear and accessories collection that includes denim, bottoms, tops, dresses, skirts, shorts, jackets, handbags and shoes.” It will retail for between $20 and $50, and the sizes will range from 0 to 15.
