Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have finally opened the first store for The Row. After eight years in business, its definitely time.
The store is located on Melrose Place in Los Angeles, in a space that used to house a hair salon the sisters would visit when they were ten-years-old. And, the space is definitely keeping up with The Row's style. The design is minimalist, clean, and can barely be seen from the street. It also has a swimming pool, because why not?
“We’ve always wanted our own store; it’s always been part of the plan,” Mary-Kate told WWD. “It was a toss-up between New York and L.A., and when this space became available, we jumped on it. It used to be a hair salon, and my sister and I used to come here, so we were very aware of the space.”
The Olsens say they won't be making a huge deal of the opening with a big party. They want the opening of the flagship to be quiet, so they can make sure their first retail location is done right.
“It was important to us to open up our doors quietly,” said Ashley. “We’re not going to have a party or anything; we want to make sure it’s set up properly, merchandised properly, that things are working. Maybe in a month or so we’ll do a dinner. For now, we just want to be open and get feedback from people close to us. We’ve always been one T-shirt at a time, one hire at a time. We still run our business that way. We take on what the company can handle, when it can handle it. This is not a fast-fashion brand, and I think it’s important to allow time to exist and grow the way it grows naturally.”
The store itself will not be a traditional store where you can buy all of the brand's pieces. Because the brand sells its items through wholesale channels, the flagship will act as a showroom for The Row's full collection and will showcase upcoming capsule collections. The first capsule collection is said to arrive in two weeks.
And that's not all for The Row. Mary-Kate told WWD that they are going to expand the company into a lifestyle brand, with footwear and menswear collections in the works.
The Row's first retail location opened its doors earlier this week in Los Angeles.
