The increasingly important role of ecommerce as a distribution channel for bedding has given an increasingly broad array of designer, lifestyle, celebrity and other licensed properties more of a chance to find their consumer audiences.

According to NPD Group, the ecommerce channel in 2017 was the only one to show year-on-year gains in bedding sales, (with a 4.5 percent rise), while each of the other channels was either flat (warehouse clubs), or down less than 2 percent.

Overstock.com’s Licensed Bedding Offerings

NPD Home Industry analyst Joe Derochowski expects the ecommerce to continue to gain share of the overall bedding market. It stood at a 17 percent share in 2017 – the third largest channel, behind mass merchants (39 percent) and home specialty stores (i.e. Bed Bath & Beyond, Ikea and Crate & Barrel) at 18 percent. Department stores trailed with seven percent share, national chains (i.e. JC Penney, Sears, Kohl’s) and off-price (i.e. T.J. Maxx and Nordstrom Rack) each accounted for six percent and warehouse clubs generated five percent of the business.

Internet-only retailers such as Wayfair, Overstock.com, and Amazon along with the ecommerce sites of brick and mortar retailers such as Bed, Bath & Beyond are giving an opportunity to bedding/textiles brands that have struggled for shelf space in department store and mass retailers that are increasingly concentrating on a few key brands and their own private labels.

But in cyberspace, where “shelf space” is more plentiful and risks are lower, it’s easier for a licensee to take a chance on brands that are less than a sure bet. For example,

• Siscovers is readying F. Scott Fitzgerald collections (comforter, sham and two to three pillows) in 50-60 different fabrics for October and an Ernest Hemmingway version in January. The company also sells PoloGear bedding through Wayfair as part of a licensing agreement with polo equipment supplier Polo Gear.

• Kimlor Mills’ Realtree and HiEnd Accents’ Mossy Oak-licensed comforter sets and sheets have found homes on more targeted sites such as cabinplace.com and camo.com, but also at Wayfair, Target, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond websites in addition to retail stores.

• Westport Linens, having landed Cosmopolitan brand bedding at HomeGoods, began marketing a new CosmoLiving by Cosmopolitan sub-brand on Wayfair. Hearst also is weighing introducing bedding under the Good Housekeeping and House Beautiful brands, says Steve Ross, Chief Global Licensing Officer at Hearst.

• Welspun is readying a 25-SKU bedding assortment under Buzzfeed’s health and wellness Goodful online brand that will available through Macy’s online and bricks and mortar stores.

Siscovers’ PoloGear Comforter

Says Shari Hammer, President of Siscovers, which also sells bedding under the Crayola and PoloGear brands: “Brick and mortar has not been as open to taking a risk on new brands. They want their own brand or something that is exclusive to them because that is how they compete.”

Yet the growth in ecommerce bedding business isn’t without a cost. The more goods that bedding suppliers put online, the more inventory they have to hold, says Jennifer Marks, editor-in-chief at Home Textiles Today. And, notes one bedding industry executive, quantities are generally smaller, so that while the Internet “gets a brand more eyeballs, there is no guarantee that means more dollars.”

Those smaller quantities, however, also allow for more flexibility.

Duke Imports, which works with designers Debra Valencia, Phyllis Dobbs and others, typically develops 20-30 new designs annually, due largely to ecommerce business. Without ecommerce, that number might be closer to 5-10 annually, says Simardeep Sethi, VP Business Relations. The more frequent changes in licensed designs is partly tied to Millennial consumers, who are typically seeking variety in their bedding, such as changing colors and designs with the seasons of the year, he says. Duke’s products also are designed to hit lower prices being sought by younger consumers with a three-piece collection (quilt and two shams) typically retailing for $50-$60. Quilts in bricks and mortar stores can be more regional in distribution since certain designs typically sell better in some markets than others. But with ecommerce there are fewer barriers to entry.

“Not every design is a super hit, but because we can afford to churn them, we can keep those that work (via ecommerce) and get rid of those that aren’t working,” says Sethi.

The ecommerce retailers also have given designers a better shot at distribution, says Valencia.

“It used to be impossible to break in {with brick and mortar retailers] unless you had a big brand name, but now I have more of an opportunity based on the merit of the artwork itself,” says Valencia. “I find that there is more of a market for things that are unique.”

In addition to ecommerce, the push with fashion brands beyond the department store mainstays for bedding also is being led by off-price retailers, says Michelle McLaughlin of Brand Activation Consulting. TJX’s HomeGoods chain has brought in brands such as Nicole Miller and Tommy Bahama and focused on the lifestyle properties for bedding in ceding the market for entertainment/character-based products to mass retailers, says McLaughlin. For example, during a recent visit to a HomeGoods store, fashion brands such as Nicole Miller were in evidence in both the adult and children’s bedding sections. Although Berkshire Blanket & Co.’s Peanuts line of blankets was available at HomeGoods, entertainment-based products had a small presence.

“We see off-price being very healthy these days; that speaks to the affordability and accessibility proposition that many of these products look to have” to appeal to Millennials, says Hearst’s Ross, whose licensee Westport sells Cosmopolitan bedding through HomeGoods and Ross Stores.

Also playing into the lifestyle brands is celebrity-licensed bedding. Licensee Baltic Linens Co. is launching a Lionel Richie bedding collection this fall at J.C. Penney, representing the most recent celebrity-based foray in a category that also has included Ellen DeGeneres, Rachel Ray and others.

“There is such a personal connection with celebrities today,” says Julie McKenzie, CEO at Welspun USA, “It used to be that you saw them on TV or in a movie and didn’t know much more about them. Now people have this real-time connection” with celebrities via social media and “consumers feel like they really know them and the way their homes are styled and they want to emulate that.”

To keep its finger on trends (including brands and celebrities) that seemingly change every five minutes, Welspun is assembling a 3,000-4,000 person panel that will be polled weekly and monthly, says McKenzie. The panels, which begin in October, can be segmented based on geographic region, age and other demographics.

“The panel is going to be a big difference maker for us,” says McKenzie. “Fielding consumer studies can take a long time and business is now moving at the speed of light, so knowing that we can get a question out and get an answer quickly in real-time, we can build a program that can launch.”

Contacts:

Brand Activation Consulting, Michelle McLaughlin, Principal, 310-363-1418, mmclaughlin@bac-usa.com

DeVa Design, Inc., Debra Valencia, CEO, 310-266-1577, debravalencia@gmail.com

Duke Imports, Simardeep Sethi, VP Business Relations, 260-665-1100, simar@dukeimports.com

Hearst Corp., Steve Ross, Chief Global Licensing Officer, 212-649-3259, sross@hearst.com

HiEnd Accents, Sophie Sallinger, Key Accounts Mgr., 972-484-2996

Home Textiles Today, Jennifer Marks, Editor-in-Chief, 732-204-2012, jmarks@hometextilestoday.com

Kimlor Mills, Matt King, EVP, 803-531-2037

Mossy Oak, Pam Strickland, Dir. Home Décor and Lifestyle, 662-494-8859

The NPD Group, Joe Derochowski, Executive Dir. and Home Industry Analyst, 630-452-1117, joe.derochowski@npd.com

Siscovers, Shari Hammer, Pres. 763-789-0956, shammer@siscovers.com

Welspun, Julie McKenzie, CEO, 917-790-3031, mckenziej@welspunusausa.com