For fashion labels, the home goods category is a natural—albeit sometimes challenging—area of interest for brand extension. Recent deals involve a range of demographics and price points, as well as a mix of retailers and manufacturers serving as licensees:
- Lululemon teamed with PBTeen for an exclusive capsule collection of home goods tied to Lululemon’s athletic apparel brand for girls, Ivivva. The 40-piece assortment, which launched in July, ranges from bedding to furniture to decorative accessories for active tweens and teens.
- Lucky Brand entered the home category for the first time through an exclusive bedding collection with Macy’s. Products include sheets, quilts, throws, duvet covers, pillows, and the like, launching this September in 100 stores and online.
- Joules signed DFS, also a licensee of French Connection and a number of other properties, for a range of made-to-order sofas sold online and through 11 DFS stores. Previous Joules home goods have included cushions, kitchen accessories, and throws. Both are U.K.-based companies.
- Sequential Brands licensed its Ellen Tracy label to Cathay Home for a line of textiles (featuring products similar to those under the Lucky deal, above) to be introduced in spring 2018. The Ellen Tracy Home program already encompasses towels, curtains, and storage products.
- Perry Ellis International partnered with Jeffrey Home for bed and bath products, from window treatments, pillows, and throws to outdoor accessories, under the Laundry by Shelli Segal and Laundry by Design brands. The line launched in spring 2017.
While the home category seems like a no-brainer for apparel brand expansion, not all licensed bed, bath, and/or furniture collections based on fashion labels have succeeded. Compared to core clothing categories, home goods command relatively little floor space at retail, making it difficult to gain a foothold. The retail exclusives on the list address this obstacle.
In addition, a fashion license is not necessarily as much of a differentiator in the more commoditized bed and bath area as it is in apparel. That makes it a tougher sale to potential licensees who may not see enough benefit to warrant a royalty eating into their margins. This despite the fact that a clothing label can certainly translate logically to home goods through its color palette, identifiable fabrics and patterns, signature embellishments, and unique products that make sense for the brand.
Even with these challenges, it is certainly true that the built-in fan base and high awareness attached to a fashion brand in the eyes of its core customers can give a related home goods line an advantage in the marketplace. And, as the ongoing stream of deals indicates, many home goods marketers and retailers continue to see strong potential for fashion labels within their merchandise mix.
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