Wal-Mart is banking on US teen stars Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen working their magic this side of the Atlantic with a new fashion range for Asda targeting pre-teens. Californian twins Ashley and Mary Kate are household names in the US, where they have built a $1bn business empire selling merchandise including books, clothing, videos and toys on the back of successful careers in TV sitcoms and other ventures. The clothes are top sellers in Wal-Mart stores in the US. Asda George md Andy Bond said he was confident the "west coast denim style" underpinning the range of shoes, jeans, tops, underwear and accessories would appeal to British girls, who were familiar with the 15-year-old twins from TV sitcoms, So Little Time and Two of a Kind. "The twins are hot property," said Bond, who beat off competition from Woolworths and M&S to win an exclusive deal to stock the branded products with the twins' company Dualstar Entertainment. The range will be introduced to 145 stores at Easter, said Bond. "We'll start with about 10 lines in the main clothing range, 25 nightwear and three lines of shoes. We'll build on that as we get more confident." The clothes will be sold in separate Americana merchandising units within Asda's George clothing departments, with guideline prices of £6 for a top and £9 for denim wear. "This is not about plugging a gap in the teen market," stressed Bond. "Our teen ranges are doing really well. It's an extra opportunity, rather like the barbie range. Licensed merchandise is extremely popular." Asda is now developing a new petite range under the George brand as part of its commitment to cater for women of all shapes and sizes, said Bond. The George team has also been working on more effective space utilisation enabling it to increase its ranges without taking up extra retail space. {{NEWS }}

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