Smart Marketing: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Do Luxe E-Commerce Right
File this one under smart marketing (or, it may be dumb luck -- but it sure is working). Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's new e-commerce site for their luxe line The Row, that is. Indeed, just twenty minutes after shop.therow.com (rather quietly) launched on Friday, much of the merchandise was sold out. And just like that, the Olsen twins created exactly the kind of market conditions (not to mention gathering all sorts of valuable customer data) that many retailers spend years trying to hone.
Any die-hard fashionista will tell you: nothing is more tantalizing than being able to see the goods (think obsessing about the color and cut, fantasizing about which accessories best compliment, etc.) yet only be able to put your name on a waiting list. Along comes The Row and delivers a double whammy: a preponderance of posh and the pressure to click and buy it before some other lucky fash-gal snaps it up first.
Started just three years ago by the uber-stylish twins (most affectionately known for their star turn on 80s sitcom Full House), the top-drawer collection grew out of the Olsens' experience with a clothing line for tweens at Walmart, and a subsequent mid-priced collection dubbed Elizabeth and James. (In a strange juxtaposition of high end/low brow in their brand portfolio, they've also stamped their imprimatur on the budget-priced line Olsenboye for JCPenney.)
But it's The Row that's been lauded by fashion's upper echelons, recently earning the duo a spot in the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America. The Row also resonates with real-world style mavens, consistently coveted for its spare silhouettes done in fine fabrics sporting clever details.
Despite the near-overnight success of The Row, the Olsen sisters were somewhat slow to convert to the Web. Ashley told Style.com that neither of them is tech-savvy, part of the reason that many designers have been hesitant to join the ranks of e-commerce. But Mary Kate insisted that part of their seeming reluctance stemmed from wanting to provide a complete user experience.
All of the background visuals are high-res images of actual fabric swatches from our collections. We wanted the viewer to really see all of the details of the beautiful fabrics we use--washed red silk charmeuse, the scales of our python skins, our cashmere modals.
However, once the site debuted in January, The Row was available to anyone with a Web browser in all its sumptuous -- yet understated -- glory. Which is exactly counterintuitive to the cachet of luxury brands that once required wannabe label-bearers to be in close enough proximity to shop at an actual store.
Except now, the Olsens have elegantly circumvented this pesky problem by not only offering limited quantities (and very high prices), but also a shockingly limited array of sizes on many garments. For example: want that sleek, leather "Newman" dress? Size 4 or 6 only need apply.
Perhaps the demand for their ultra-chic threads will inform the sisters' future designs, or at least provide enough data to allow them to sell more of the most popular items. On the other hand, it's clear The Row is not for everyone. And the Olsen girls don't need it to be. They've already built an empire estimated to be worth $1 billion. They can afford to be a little exclusive without taking too big a hit in the bottom line. And such covetability will certainly help pave the way for much more lucrative future collaborations. It's entirely possible the Olsens could add their star power to Target's illustrious portfolio of GO International guest designers.
Image via shop.therow.com
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