Clothing store Smith Bros opened for business on Walnut Street Friday -- just in time for a bustling family weekend complete with parents and their checkbooks.
Smith Bros, located at 3661 Walnut St., fills the vacancy left by the upscale women's clothier Ma Jolie, which shut down last May. The new store features brand name jeans and caters mainly to women ages 15 to 25.
Smith Bros owner Wayne Shulick cited a "phenomenal" opening weekend.
"We've been extremely busy," Shulick said. "Business has been going very well and the feedback we've been getting is amazing."
The steady stream of people coming into the store throughout the day Sunday seemed to attest to Smith Bros' highly visible location and success in promoting itself to the students.
"I like it, it's different from other things on campus," College freshman Courtney Lesko said.
"I think they have stuff that's very appealing to the Penn community," College senior Erica Keenholtz said. "I think I'll come here a lot and see what they have."
But not all customers were satisfied with what they saw.
"I don't know, it's actually not that impressive to me," College sophomore Jamie Wong said. "It's not like my style. It's kind of bland."
Many students were also worried about the store's high price points. Some shared fears of history repeating itself, as Ma Jolie, which carried high-priced merchandise, ultimately went out of business.
"It is pricey and I know that's what happened to Ma Jolie, unless [Smith Bros'] quality is really, really good," College senior Stephanie Benedetto said.
Shulick, however, dismissed such fears, saying he hadn't heard of any complaints thus far.
"We haven't seen [concern about prices] in the first few days we've been open," he said.
Nearby shopkeepers in Sansom Common said they are excited to have Smith Bros around and felt the store would generally increase business in the area.
"They just have the Gap and Urban Outfitters around here," Steve Madden sales supervisor Stephanie Hudgins said. "They needed something more trendy."
Smith Bros saleswoman Lizzie Freitag also thought that the new store brought something different to the Penn community.
"I guess we have a sort of interesting mix in the Philadelphia market," Freitag said. "It's definitely like a jeans and denim store, it's just got a great selection of denim, which is so hot right now."
Unfortunately for the male population at Penn, Smith Bros' selection for men is limited to a small corner in the back of the store.
"It was an afterthought," Shulick said. "Because as we were opening a lot of guys came in and inquired if we would be carrying any guys' stuff."
