Ecommerce and off-price retailers are rapidly replacing brick-and-mortar department stores and specialty chains as go-to home for licensed textiles products.

That was apparent in conversations with licensors and licensees at the New York Home Fashions Show amid the well-documented struggles of Bed Bath & Beyond and much of the department store sector, with the latter shrinking space dedicated to home goods in their brick and mortar locations, while maintaining a larger assortment online.

The changes were evident in New Sega Home’s new agreement with Burlington Stores to supply licensed bedding under the “B Smith with Style” brand, which had been a long-time exclusive at Bed Bath and Beyond.  At the same time, Town & Country Living is moving to expand distribution of its Ellen DeGeneres (ED) table linens and kitchen textiles outside Bed Bath & Beyond for the first time. Town & Country also is picking up the same categories for Martha Stewart that were previously a DTR at Macy’s.

The channel shifts are ongoing.  Home textiles sales in off-price retailers in the U.S. increased 6.9% to $3 billion in 2018, while sales in department stores dropped 2.9% to $3.6 billion, according to the industry publication Home Textiles Today (HTT).

Meanwhile, the Top 25 ecommerce retailers posted a 10.7% increase in home textiles sales to $3.9 billion in 2017 (the most recent year for which data was available), according to HTT. They accounted for 13.9% of total U.S. home textiles sales of $28.6 billion, up from 12% a year earlier. Amazon remains the top online seller of home textiles with sales increasing 30% to $1.3 billion in 2018, according to HTT.

Both Revman and Blue Ridge Home Fashions say the portion of their business going through ecommerce channels has doubled during the past two years to 40% and 30%, respectively. And Blue Ridge, which sells bedding under such licenses as Serta, Elle, Cannon, and Kathy Ireland to 45 ecommerce retailers, expects to double the number of its drop-ship programs for ecommerce this year to 105 with the addition of the Serta label, says Sales Director Mark Schwartz. And Sobel Westex, which launched Lionel Richie bedding through 300 JC Penney stores last November, wound up sales there earlier this month and is shifting to a direct-to-consumer business on Amazon that launches late this month, says Account Executive Christian Fabbri. Sobel also is pursuing direct-to-consumer strategies for Hard Rock Hotel and Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson bedding, the latter launching in October.

“These two businesses [ecommerce and off-price] want more brands and a continuous sense of newness,” says Nikki Haas, Senior Director for Home at Iconix Brand Group, which is moving to make its fashion brands – Mossimo, Mudd and Danskin — available in off-price for home products. “They are all about brands, because that is what consumers search for and that is what consumers identify with.”

Many licensees are increasingly developing derivative lines to target off-price and ecommerce. For example, Revman unveiled Kenneth Cole bedding, which was once exclusive to Bed Bath & Beyond, in two varieties – Kenneth Cole Reaction for off-price and Kenneth Cole New York for specialty and department store.  A three-piece Kenneth Cole Reaction package is priced at $99, about $50 less than the premium Kenneth Cole New York product. Pem America also launched its new Sean Jean bedding this month at Macys.com this week, but will make a lower priced version available for off-price, says Pem America EVP Sam Glasnapp. Blue Ridge also is launching 14 SKUs of Scott Living utility bedding (mattress pads, comforters, pillows) in October through Kohl’s online store (but not its physical stores) as part of the retailer’s agreement with Scott Brothers. Kohl’s brick-and-mortar stores will launch a Scott Living in-store display in the home products section in October stocked with products from about a dozen licensees. Blue Ridge will have separate Scott Living utility bedding available through Wayfair, Amazon and Lowe’s online store in Q4. New Sega also plans to Country Living licensed bedding available through both off-price and specialty, marking a change for a brand that in past has been at Sears/Kmart and, most recently, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet.

Among the other developments we  observed at the show:

CBD oil is finding its way into bedding, largely as a coating added during the manufacturing process. Suppliers touted numerous therapeutic effects — i.e reducing anxiety — though most haven’t been proven. Soft-Tex and WestPoint Home’s Martex brands promoted CBD-enhanced mattress pads, while Loftex and Morgan Home have the oil for towels and comforters, respectively. Tramar also introduced “Cannabedding by Relaxology” featuring sheets treated with CBD and thyme.

Former retail brands are competing again. Brookstone (Luxury London) and Sharper Image (All Star Products) staked out separate floors of the Textile Building at 295 Fifth Avenue. London Luxury has introduced a Brookstone comforter through Bed Bath & Beyond, while All Star Products is selling Sharper Image weighted comforters – those containing weighted materials such as plastic pellets – through Amazon, CVS and other retailers. Town & Country also is readying Brookstone travel accessories (neck rests, blankets).

Home textiles with a cause. Several suppliers launched collections tied to non-profit organizations, playing to consumers increasingly drawn to products tied to them. Triangle Home Fashions unveiled four bedroom collections with the Make-A-Wish foundation (which will get 5% of the purchase price), while Revman highlighted Nautica brand bedding tied to Oceana, the international organization for ocean conservation. Revman also has launched sales of Ivory Ella comforters and other bedding as part of an agreement it signed last year with Save the Elephants, which will receive with 10% of sales. The collection is being sold through the Ivory Ella web site. And a portion of Sobel Westex’s Duchess of York bedding will be donated to Sarah Ferguson’s charities and foundations.

Contacts:

Blue Ridge Home Fashions, Mark Schwartz, Dir. Sales and Product Development, 626-960-6069, mark.schwartz@blueridgehome.com

Creative Home Ideas, Jonathan Shemesh, VP, 212-213-1096

Iconix Brand Group, Nikki Haas, Senior Dir. Home, 212-819-2336, nhaas@iconixbrand.com

Levinsohn Textile Co., Adam Levinsohn, Pres., 212-885-1440, alevinsohn@levinsohn.com

London Luxury, Amanda Keller, VP Brand Strategy, 914-636-2100 x525, akeller@londonlux.com