Overstock launches 17 new private label furniture lines

Dive Brief:

Overstock on Wednesday unveiled 17 private label furniture brands that include 16,000 furniture and home décor products, according to a press release emailed to Retail Dive.
Brands in the new selection include the "farmhouse" Gray Barn line, mid-century styles from Carson Carrington Home and an "affordable traditional" style from Laurel Creek for living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and more, the company said.
The move mirrors renewed efforts in furniture sales from Target, Amazon and Walmart, which each in recent weeks have debuted new private lines in the segment to challenge Wayfair and legacy players like Williams-Sonoma’s West Elm and Pottery Barn banners.

Dive Insight:

Overstock says it leveraged data from the more than 7 million items already available on the website to identify the most sought-after styles and products, then partnered with its home décor vendors to develop exclusive lines.

"Consumers are constantly bombarded with the latest trends to follow, and we found that a majority (89%) simply want to shop the looks they like instead, regardless of whether it’s on trend," Overstock Director of Private Label Brands Kelsey Byrne said in a statement. "We built these private label collections to give shoppers the opportunity to find products that speak to them on any budget and style, because we think style is beautiful when it’s uniquely yours."

That, and the fact that it's a lot tougher to compare prices (a quick and easy task these days that is helping consumers find the best deals) when the merchandise is unique. "While 18-29 year olds and 30-44 year olds are fairly aligned on getting products at lower prices and getting irrelevant offers, the 30-44 year old group is not nearly as sold on finding the best price at the expense of finding unique products," according to research last year from market intelligence firm Retail Systems Research.

The new merchandising comes as Overstock is looking to sell itself, with founder-CEO Patrick Byrne earlier this month telling analysts that an ideal buyer would be an established retailer whose online operations are behind the curve. Overstock is focused on the company’s blockchain trading platform subsidiary tZERO and working with the Securities and Exchange Commission to bring blockchain into the mainstream, executives said in a freewheeling first quarter conference call last week.

The future for Overstock's retail side lies in developing a brick-and-mortar business, Byrne also said, though he added that he has no interest in "buying brick and mortar." Overstock executives also see opportunity in Canada.