By Mark Seavy  

Licensed brands made a resurgence at the recent New York Home Textiles Market, gaining ground that was lost to retailers’ private labels during the past few years. 

To be sure, demand for licensed and house brands has historically run in cycles. And with mass merchants like Target (Threshold) and Walmart (Allswell) this time around having built private textile labels that generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue, there is little chance they will cede significant ground. But there were signs of renewed interest in inbound licensing from suppliers at the show as they sought to spark consumer interest. 

Vietnam-based Sun Yin, which dropped licensing after struggling with the American Outdoorsman and Kendra Dandy’s Bouffants and Broken Hearts brands a few years ago, recently returned to the fold in a deal with Newtimes Group’s Coldwater Creek and affiliate Soft Surroundings apparel brands. Sun Yin will launch Coldwater Creek—which is entering outbound licensing for the first time—for throws, blankets, and quilts in spring 2026, said Brandon Grether, EVP for Marketing and Product Development at Sun Yin.  

Sun Yin had previously focused on providing private label goods, including Crafted by Catherine (throws), which were sold through Sam’s Club. For Coldwater, which focuses on online and catalog sales, the agreement marks a potential return to retail after having closed its 13 remaining stores in 2020. 

Town and Country, meanwhile, is expanding distribution of actress Reese Witherspoon’s licensed Draper James brand (kitchen textiles, area rugs, pet beds) while also preparing to launch its namesake label as a direct-to-consumer business in spring 2026, said Judi Alvarez, VP of Licensing and Marketing at Town & Country Living. The area rugs have started sales through Draper James stores in Nashville, TN and Houston, TX. 

And Pem America, which licensed the Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) brand a year ago, is shifting to supply the retail brand’s return to business as part of an agreement with BBBY licensee Kirkland’s Home (which is converting its 313 locations to the Bed Bath & Beyond name starting in Nashville, TN). Pem is so far providing Vince Camuto, Fyre, Cannon, Rachel Ashwell, and other licensed labels (quilts, throws, sheets) for these new locations. As for the BBBY brand, Pem is weighing deploying the license as a store-within-a-store format.  

Additionally, Revman unveiled a new iteration of Marquee Brands’ Martha Stewart-branded bedding after having secured a license previously held by Welspun. Indo Count, meanwhile, introduced Wamsutta for bedding, having purchased it from Beyond Inc. (now Bed, Bath & Beyond) last year.  

“We are always reacting to consumers who, with their dollars, are voting for brands right now and that is part of a constant cycle with private brands,” a textiles executive said. “There is limited shelf space, and the market is picking up brands and that must come at the expense of private brands to some extent. But for many years it was hard to find a strong home goods brand and licensing new brands is growing again, but I wouldn’t say private label is shrinking.” 

At the same time, textile suppliers are faced with tariffs and reacting to increasing costs by shifting production to countries outside China. In some cases that means training contract manufacturers for new product lines or, in the case of Pem, investing in the plants to secure inventory. Pem has invested in plants in Benin (sheets) and Egypt (faux fur throws). At Britannica Home Fashions, which has licenses for Uggs, Pendleton, and Tom Romeo’s Bearpaw brand bedding, 80% of its products are made in China and the company is transitioning its manufacturing to other countries, but that process will take time, a Britannica executive said. Town & Country, meanwhile, has raised some prices.  

“This type of pressure adds momentum for every company to be more efficient and to work a little tighter in delivering value to the consumer,” the Britannica executive said. “We partner with our suppliers and do our best to mitigate the additional costs, but price increases are inevitable.”