Mary-Kate and Ashley expand business horizons

Mary-Kate and Ashley expand their business horizons

Teen actresses and businesswomen Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen have their sights set on a new brand launch that includes an entirely new target market – ‘tween and teen boys.

Ashley and Mary-Kate are excited to announce a business partnership between their company Dualstar Entertainment Group and 13-year-old actors Cole Sprouse and Dylan Sprouse.

Identical twins Cole and Dylan share a similar background to Mary-Kate and Ashley as child actors.

They are best known to Kiwi audiences for their acting roles in the Disney Channel’s The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (SKY TV, Friday and Saturday, 5.30pm). They are also familiar for their shared roles as Ross’ son Ben on the popular sitcom Friends and as Julian in the box-office hit Big Daddy starring Adam Sandler.

“It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to see Dualstar’s potential being tapped into by another celebrity brand.” says Ashley Olsen.

“Cole, Dylan and the D.C. Sprouse brand are a perfect fit with Dualstar as we begin to move our company into the next phase of business development and expansion.” says Mary-Kate Olsen.

For the past twelve years Dualstar - the company now owned entirely by Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen - has been devoted to leveraging the appeal of Mary-Kate and Ashley as actresses into the mary-kateandashley brand, now a global entertainment and lifestyle brand.

The deal with Cole and Dylan solidifies Dualstar’s commitment to creating a diverse portfolio of brands and personalities with branding potential, building on the success of its flagship
mary-kateandashley brand.

“Dualstar is a boutique entertainment company offering a specialised service of brand development, design and management,” says CEO Diane Reichenberger.

“This deal represents the first of many partnerships for Dualstar, expanding on our original business model and opening the door for other opportunities in the months ahead.

“Cole and Dylan are extraordinary young men who are talented, gracious and a lot of fun.”

Josh Werkman, manager for Cole Sprouse and Dylan Sprouse, believes Dualstar is the best match for Cole and Dylan. He says it is a visionary organisation with an unparalleled expertise in building and managing brands, ensuring integrity and longevity every step of the way.

Cole and Dylan are honoured to be working with the now world-famous teen superstars.

“For a long time we’ve looked up to Mary-Kate and Ashley because of our similar lives in the entertainment industry. They’ve accomplished everything we want to do in business.” says Cole Sprouse.

“The entire world thinks Mary-Kate and Ashley are the coolest people on earth and I completely agree!” adds Dylan.

Kiwi kids can expect to hear more on the new venture as details about the brand launch are revealed in coming months. The D.C. Sprouse brand is slated to launch in the United States in late 2006 with a global roll-out planned from there.

ENDS

About Dualstar Entertainment Group

Founded in 1993 to leverage the universal appeal of then-“Full House” stars Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, Dualstar Entertainment Group is today the leader in affordable designer fashions for ‘tween girls (age 5-12) through its mary-kateandashley brand. Augmenting its original focus on home video titles with books, music CDs, videogames and fashion dolls, Dualstar has subsequently expanded the mary-kateandashley brand into apparel, cosmetics, fragrances and home décor. Recently introducing Mary-Kate and Ashley’s Official Online Fan Club, Dualstar previously launched a broader lifestyle destination, mary-kateandashley.com, which aims to offer ‘tweens and teens an upbeat community environment with features and advice on health, beauty, fashion, entertainment and the mind-body-soul connection.

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