Cute Olsen twins build marketing empire

Contributed photo

Mary-Kate (left) and Ashley Olsen formed Dualstar in 1993, an empire that makes $1 billion annually in retail sales.

When actor John Stamos was interviewed by TV critics at July's summer press tour in Los Angeles, someone asked if it bothered him that the Olsen twins have a fatter bank account than he does.
   "I think it's a gas," Stamos replied, following with, "I've bugged them to borrow money and stuff - they're rich as hell."
   Would he ever consider going to work for them?
   "I do wash their cars on occasion," Stamos teased.
   Truth be told, the 15-year-old twins are taking their dimples all the way to the bank.
   Move over, Oprah
   Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen got their start early at 9 months old in 1987, sharing the role of youngest daughter Michelle in TV's "Full House," which also starred Stamos. That went through 1995, and now at 15, Mary-Kate and Ashley are often compared with Orpah and Martha Stewart in terms of merchandising, branding and influence on the American public.
   The Olsens have their TV shows - "So Little Time" (10:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays on Fox Family Channel) and the animated "Mary-Kate and Ashley in Action!" (10 a.m. Saturday on ABC). They have their books (more than 40 million in circulation), CDs (12 different titles) and magazine ("Mary-Kate and Ashley," of which they are editors-in-chief). They've designed their own clothing line that sells at Wal-Mart stores. They've found overwhelming success in video with titles such as "Passport to Paris" and the "Mary-Kate and Ashley's Adventures" series, selling more than 25 million videos. They have Mattel-made dolls in their images. And in an arena completely their own, they also star in four different video game titles - take that, Oprah!
   To manage this commercial behemoth, the twins formed Dualstar in 1993. And now - at 15, mind you - the twins look down at an empire that makes $1 billion annually at retail. But to hear them talk about it, it sounds much more casual than that of a billion-dollar enterprise and one of the biggest name-branding campaigns in recent history.
   Typical teen-speak
   While at July's press tour talking up Fox Family's "So Little Time," the Olsens finished each other's sentences. This is their lives in their own words:
   Ashley: "Dualstar - we have other divisions, like we have a clothing line at Wal-Mart, we produce shows for 'So Little Time,' and ... sorry, we're nervous."
   Mary-Kate: "Yeah."
   Ashley: "We've been doing TV movies, and our manager, Robert Thorne, thought it would be a good idea to, you know, start doing videos and TV shows, and now we have a fashion line and -"
   Mary-Kate: "... fashion line and magazines -"
   Ashley: "... yeah, magazines, so we thought it would be good to start a company, and it kind of started a while ago, like a couple years ago. It's kind of growing and going."
   This is how the Olsens grow and go: The millionaire twins said they oversee the daily production and suggest story ideas at the magazine. With their sitcom, they chose which project they wanted to do, and then they helped cast it, they said.
   'Normal' lives
   And in the midst of these highly grown-up activities, the twins try to live an ordinary childhood of doing homework, going to the movies and spending time with their parents, who are divorced. There are not-so-normal twists to their life - they have met Britney Spears - but for the most part, they choose to remain outside of the celebrity circle.
   Ashley: "Oh, we love Britney. We've been to her concerts, and we've met her."
   Mary-Kate: "She's really nice ..."
   Ashley: "... and her sister, and she's very sweet."
   Mary-Kate: "She was very nice to us."
   Ashley: "I think she's got a good personality."
   Mary-Kate: "She's really down to earth."
   Spears was also at the July press tour, hyping her upcoming live concert on HBO, and she and the Olsens are in strikingly similar positions. They're still extremely young (Spears is 19), yet they're put in the tough positions of being role models while under constant public scrutiny. Spears recently changed her mind on the topic, and came out in a magazine feature saying she doesn't want to be a role model.
   The Olsens meanwhile said they feel lucky to be role models for girls their age - the same tune Spears was singing less than a year ago. Will age and hormonal shifts sway the Olsens away from their wholesome image? Not if their manager has anything to say about it.
   Then again, they might actually increase their net worth if, in a few years, they appeared on the cover of Maxim magazine. Stranger things have happened when child stars are concerned, but for now, these twin tycoons are banking on their current demographic of girls with their driving permits.
  
  

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