Dive Brief:
- As it grows its offering of DTC brands, West Elm on Tuesday announced it has partnered with office furniture brand Branch.
- Targeting both at-home workers and small- to medium-sized businesses, the Branch collection will feature a curated assortment of ergonomic furniture, including office chairs, desks, conference furniture and storage accessories, according to a company press release. Products will be available on West Elm’s website as well as in retail stores in the coming months.
- The partnership helps West Elm to expand its new business-to-business offering, the company said, and marks Branch’s first partnership with a major retailer.
Dive Insight:
By working with Branch, West Elm is able to grow its business offering while the DTC brand gains access to new corporate customers, the companies said in their announcement.
“Branch caught our eye because we loved their designs, which are paired with value-driven pricing and contract grade quality. By including Branch in our West Elm Business offering, we can give our business customers great choices at affordable price points and fast delivery times,” Cheryl Carpenter, vice president of West Elm Business, said in a statement.
The companies’ partnership not only allows West Elm to expand its business-to-business segment, but also adds to its growing assortment of direct-to-consumer brands.
The home brand in early 2020 partnered with Bloomscape to sell the DTC plant company’s products on its website. And earlier this year, West Elm partnered with infant and toddler brand Lalo to launch a collection of products available on both company’s websites as well as Babylist.
Other retailers have brought in DTC brands in part to attract a younger demographic and drive traffic to their stores and website. Target, for example, has formed partnerships with brands like Harry’s, Quip, Native and Function of Beauty. Nordstrom has partnered with brands like Away, Thinx and Kim Kardashian’s Skims. And Walmart went so far as to acquire digitally native brands like Bonobos and Eloquii.
For DTCs, deals with retailers offer brands access to new customers and resources, like brick-and-mortar locations, especially as the problems with selling goods exclusively online become increasingly apparent.
