As reported earlier, the Wonder Girls are really gearing up for their American debut, first returning to the stage with the Jonas Brothers, then releasing an official remix and finally holding Meet & Greets in Justice stores on the East Coast today & tomorrow!
Justice... wha? Even if you don't live in the States, many of you readers probably haven't heard of the Justice store chain. It's a popular retail fashion store across America aimed at tweens; if you're like me and past that stage, think of the popular Limited Too of a few years back because they're under the same company.
Scott Bracale, the president of Tween Brands Inc's Agency, has expressed confidence in the company's new partnership with the Girls. The "Nobody" remix CDs are exclusively retailing for just a dollar and have already sold over 17,000 units in the 800 Justice locations that are selling them. With this success, Bracale predicts that the 30,000 CDs in stock will be sold out sometime next week.
It looks like Tween Brands Inc is serious about getting these CDs out - as promotion, the store appeals to both the tweens & parents (the so-called "Tween Network) by continually playing the music video on TV screens in each store.
"Something unique about this partnership ... is that we are selling the actual CDs versus the digital downloads," expressed Leslie Armour, president of the Youth Marketing Group, which consults Tween Brands. "No other retailers are selling the physical CD singles, but ... we [have found] that these girls really like to be able to feel and touch what they are purchasing. They like to have it in their hands when they leave the store."
"Record stores have all pretty much faded or gone away altogether, so for us to be in Justice stores is such a great opportunity," said JY Park of JYP Entertainment. This is true especially in Korea, the only country in which digital sales currently exceed physical sales, reportedly generating 56% of total music revenue in the country back in 2006. In the states, digital music sales are project to eclipse those of physical CDs by the end of next year.
JY Park continued, "We are getting the tweens excited for this single at a store they not only buy clothes at but they like to spend their time there."
So how did the Wonder Girls snag such a great partnership with a large company like Tween Brands? "The Wonder Girls struck us as being very tween appropriate," the president explained. "We are very selective about who we partner with, but if there is something new, different and innovative, we can most certainly deliver the viewership in our stores."
credits: allkpop
