Olsens Launch 'Affordable' Handbag Line First, Ecommerce After

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A satchel via Getty

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen just won the CFDA award for their high-end line The Row, and now they're turning serious attention to their contemporary line Elizabeth & James. First move, handbags. Mary Kate offers a pricing breakdown in terms of where they fit in the market: "We wanted the price point to be strong. The price point is below [Alexander] Wang and [Phillip] Lim but above Marc [Jacobs] and Tory [Burch]." Ashley added, "We wanted these bags to be affordable." That means $125 to $395 for small leather goods and $395 to $625 for bags, and despite the "affordable" price point, the bags are Italian suede, leather, and haircalf or New Zealand lambskin. Look for them in stores come July.

Here's what you can also expect in the next few years for the brand: In 2014, they'll launch e-commerce and a fragrance with Sephora, open a store by 2015, follow up with two or three more stores in New York, Los Angeles and South Florida, and then head to Tokyo, Seoul or London sometime in near future.
· Elizabeth and James Launches First Bag Line, Eyes Retail Growth [WWD]
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