New Ways to Feather the Nest

Retailers of all types have been expanding their home assortments since shortly after the start of the pandemic. This is a logical move, as consumers have been doing more DIY projects; redecorating their nests to create comfortable sanctuaries; reconfiguring to accommodate home offices, schooling, and outdoor entertaining; and sometimes filling the blank slate of a new home to which they have relocated.

Many stores’ initiatives in this area involve pairings with well-known brands or celebrities—often designers, organizers, or DIY specialists—that offer expertise, help them maximize the impact of the launch, and/or differentiate them from the competition. For the outside partners, working exclusively with a retailer provides a marketing and merchandising platform that elevates their brand within a crowded, albeit still growing marketplace.

Some examples of retailers’ exclusive home goods partnerships announced in the past year:

• At Home, a chain of 235 stores in 40 states billed as The Home Décor Superstore, paired with TV host and designer Ty Pennington for a line of hundreds of products ranging from indoor and outdoor furniture, textiles, and lighting to wall art and home accents. Prices for the assortment, which launched in early January and is described as Scandinavian farmhouse with a coastal vibe, start as low as $4.99. The partnership represents the retailer’s fourth celebrity collaboration, following collections with HGTV star and interior designer Grace Mitchell, furniture designer Tracey Boyd, and boxer and wellness advocate Laila Ali.

• Saks Off Fifth announced in January that it is working with Jill Zarin and Ally Shapiro and their Jill & Ally label for a collection of gift-appropriate home décor such as candles, string lights, tableware, cocktail accessories and wine glasses, charcuterie boards, and the like. The range, with all items priced under $50, features the same tie-dye look as Jill & Ally’s face masks, apparel, and gift items; the brand launched in 2020 and is sold at multiple retail outlets. Zarin is a star of Bravo’s Real Housewives of New York and Shapiro is her daughter, whose hobby of tie-dying face masks was the inspiration for the Jill & Ally brand.

• Walmart paired with The Home Edit in January for a clear storage collection that features multi-piece systems for each room, all priced below $25. The Home Edit is an organization business and the basis of a Netflix show starring founders Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. Walmart also recently expanded its Pioneer Woman and Gap Home assortments. Last month it added bathroom décor to its existing line with the former, which was first introduced in 2015 with a kitchen range. And in October it added 150 SKUs of furniture to its existing array of bed, bath, and tabletop items under the Gap Home brand, which debuted in June 2021. At the same time it brought its first Gap Home items, formerly e-commerce-only, into physical stores with a capsule collection of bedding. Walmart’s other pairings in the home space include FLOWER Home with Drew Barrymore, introduced in 2019, and its Queer Eye home goods line, which debuted in 2020.

• Crate and Barrel launched the Shinola for Crate and Barrel Collection in August 2021, consisting of 115 pieces of furniture (retro plaid upholstered chairs, hotel beds, bookcases, etc.), as well as lighting, pillows, candles, home office décor, steak knives, and other items. Detroit-based Shinola is a brand of luxury, hand-crafted items such as watches and turntables—along with a branded hotel—and prices for the furniture collection stretch as high as $4,299. Shinola opened a Shinola Home store in Detroit next to the brand’s flagship store to highlight the new collection, with customers referred to the Crate and Barrel website or nearby Crate and Barrel stores to make their purchases.

• JCPenney partnered with The Novogratz for a limited-time Back to Everything collection of contemporary furniture, bedding, rugs, wallpaper, and décor that launched in September in select stores and online. The goods featured bold prints and bright colors with hints of vintage style, meant to create an uplifting sanctuary at home. The Novogratz is the interior design label of Robert and Cortney Novogratz. They have starred in shows on Bravo and HGTV and authored books, as well as selling their own line of furniture and home décor and collaborating with brands such as Tempaper and Sarah Jessica Parker’s SJP Collection.

• The Container Store paired with Marie Kondo and her KonMari brand just over a year ago, in January 2021, launching with more than 100 pieces, including ceramic jars, rattan baskets, bamboo drawer organizers, and products made of recycled wood and fiberboard. All the goods are made from natural materials, rather than the plastics and acrylics normally associated with the storage category, and are inspired by Kondo’s native Japanese culture. Kondo is known for her line of KonMari products, several books, and collaborations with California Closets and other brands, as well as her Netflix show.

It should be noted that while many of the most high-profile pairings in the home sector in the past year have been retail exclusives such as these, there has also been a long list of traditional licensing deals and collaborations with manufacturers. All of this activity seems to suggest that retailers, licensees, and the property owners they work with do not expect the virus-fueled strength in the home category to wane significantly, even when COVID and its variants transition from pandemic to endemic, as experts now expect, allowing consumers get back to life outside the home.