Photo: Walmart
Walmart’s new celebrity collab is its answer to Chip and Joanna Gaines’ line at Target
Walmart is leaning into another celebrity collaboration to help it boost sales of outdoor living products.
The retailer announced the launch of the Dave and Jenny Marrs Collection for Better Homes & Gardens. The line from the HGTV celebrities includes “30 outdoor home and décor items designed to create the perfect backyard oasis.”
The collection features outdoor furniture, rugs, lanterns and planters with prices ranging from around $11.97 for a planter up to $997 for a teak wood outdoor dining table.
Julie Barber, senior vice president, hardlines, Walmart U.S, writing on a company blog, said the new line “features neutral colors and handcrafted elements with natural wood and clay, chunky open weaves and antique brass, reflecting the style Dave and Jenny have in their own home.”
Walmart is hoping that fans of the Marrs’ “Fixer to Fabulous” home remodeling show will be drawn to the curated collection of “perfectly imperfect” products that make up the line and catch the attention of shoppers who may not have previously thought of the retailer as an outdoor living destination.
“It’s the perfect time to launch this exciting new brand and assortment of outdoor living items,” wrote Ms. Barber. “Over the past few years, customers have viewed their outdoor spaces as curated design extensions of their indoor living spaces, and we see this trend continuing. New items will drop seasonally, and we are excited to expand to indoor furniture and décor in the near future.”
The new line gives Walmart an answer to rival Target’s Hearth & Hand with Magnolia collaboration with Chip and Joanna Gaines. The line launched in November 2017 initially featured 300 giftables, home décor and tabletop SKUs.
Walmart’s plans for the Marrs Collection is part of a greater emphasis for it to be seen as an innovative destination for home products. The retailer last year introduced the Gap Home collection on walmart.com. The line, which initially featured over 400 bedding, bath and other home essentials, including products made with organic cotton and recycled materials, has since been expanded to furniture, as well.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Will Walmart’s collaboration with Dave and Jenny Marrs help make it a viable home products alternative to Target and its Hearth & Hand with Magnolia line? Will consumers, previously resistant to shopping at Walmart, view it differently based on such collaborations?
Poll
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Liza Amlani
Principal and Founder, Retail Strategy Group
Rich Kizer
Principal, KIZER & BENDER Speaking
We have discussed Walmart collabortions before, and it seems like they just kind of disappear into the woodwork once they are announced. I never see them in the Walmarts here in the South, whereas the Magnolia collection I see in almost every Target store, whether it’s in the South or West of the U.S.
Honestly, Chip and Joanna Gaines are icons at this point. My first question when I read this was, who are Dave and Jenny Marrs? And I confess, HGTV (and the Food Network) are my guilty pleasures.
I would have gone for Home Town’s Erin and Ben Napier. I love their show and how they integrate local retailers to stage the homes.
Yeah, that one I know, also. And the 2 ladies…good bones? What they do is fix up homes in “transitional areas” which also seems well suited for Walmart.
I like that show, too. Mother and daughter. And I like that it is filmed in Indianapolis so you get that Midwest vibe.
Endorsements from HGTV celebrities Dave and Jenny Marrs will certainly increase the perception of Walmart as being a destination for home products. Celebrity endorsements raise the credibility of products and create interest and excitement. This is a smart response from Walmart to Target’s collaboration with Chip and Joanna Gaines.
The HGTV brand alone will make customers curious and Walmart is in dire need of a hardgoods refresh. This celebrity collab is a good start and will fill the void in Walmart’s current assortment.
They may never top Target’s brand recognition and their incredible collaboration initiatives but I’m excited to see what Walmart brings to the table with this new launch.
The Gaines’ empire is well-known but its portfolio of sub-brands is also becoming ubiquitous. Hopefully, Walmart has snagged at least a temporary exclusive on the Marrs line so it can gain traction. It’s a good thing that Walmart didn’t pursue, or settle for, a watered-down partnership with the Gaines’. As Bentonville-based home celebrities in the early stages of brand-building, Dave and Jenny Marrs are a perfect fit for Walmart.
Target’s most recent home brand launch is actually with a Netflix show, Dream Home Makeover, in a collab between Studio McGee and Target’s Threshold brand. It seems Target is appealing to a younger audience versus the more traditional cable customer. Hearth and Hand is still present, but they’ve already moved onto the next buzz brand. Walmart has a very traditional customer, so it is smart to stick with HGTV stars but I’m not sure they carry the same clout, and a focus on just outdoor products may now make a big enough impact to be noticed. It screams of commitment-phobia, whereas Pioneer Woman is everywhere but took many, many years to get this level of exposure.
I like the show Fixer to Fabulous so I took a look at the Marrs Collection before commenting here. I am sad to see that it’s much like what we see from every TV show collection, including the one at Target by Joanna Gaines.
There’s a whole lot of neutral out there in home decor right now; somebody needs to take a chance on color, outdoor living is supposed to be fun. I hope this partnership works for both Walmart and the Marrs’ but personally, this consumer is going to pass.
Agreed. It would be nice to see a collection that’s a little edgier, and not so rooted in the 2010s. It will probably be a win for Walmart, though.
Interesting. Like everyone else in Miami, I’ve been checking to see what my house is worth (it’s silly, if I’m willing to live in another state). The first thing the realtors tell me is to paint the interior in “neutral tones.” Ironically, when I bought it 18 years ago, it was painted orange inside (ugh) and we redid it to Florida bungalow style — each room pretty festive looking except the bathrooms.
Love that! I went to Pottery Barn the other day and fell asleep. How many shades of beige do you need?
Good idea. However, the question is this: will Walmart follow this up with strong execution in-store and online? So many things they’ve tried have been lackluster because they look good on paper but don’t fully translate into a great customer experience and proposition. Target does not suffer from this problem. Its approach to brand development is holistic.
Walmart’s collaboration with Dave and Jenny Marrs will help them become noticed. The key here is inventory management and staying in-stock. Great dreams are presented in the first of the season, and then “outs” occur and the consumer, following the advice of the celebrities, finds it difficult to create the desired backyard utopia because stores have a hard time staying in-stock, and the presentations are always helter skelter. So in the short term, this can really create excitement and sales, and in the longer term the picture can be very bright.
I agree. Theirs is a great show to watch. I do believe the Dave and Jenny Marrs collection is good addition to Walmart’s furniture. But I doubt it will be the answer to the Chip and Joanna Gaines collection at Target.
This is a natural fit with the Marrs family being local to Bentonville. They will absolutely bring traffic to the stores. The problem with Walmart and any collaboration rollout is consistency among its stores. Execution is hard at scale, and in order for this to be successful enough to continue on after the initial launch it will have to be done well. The Marrs’ get a short term PR boost no matter what, so for them this is a no-brainer.