Photo Source: Dormify
Will Dormify Shops Make The Container Store a Big Deal On Campus?
The Container Store has plans to go off to college in the fall and it’s taking a friend with it.
The organizing solutions retailer has teamed up with Dormify, a direct-to-consumer one-stop shop for students’ dorm décor needs, to open store-within-a-store concepts in 40 stores and to sell its exclusive merchandise on containerstore.com.
The Dormify shops will be colocated next to Container Store’s “reimagined college product assortment,” according to a press release. The shops will be open through September 4 at locations in Austin, Costa Mesa, Houston, Nashville, and New York City.
Thirty-five other Container Store locations will feature Dormify displays, serving as a showroom for customers to order Dormify products online. The Container Store currently sells more than 90 Dormify items on its site.
The Container Store operates more than 95 stores at present.
“The partnership with Dormify allows us to offer stylish bedding, headboards, throw blankets, and décor directly to our customers in a way The Container Store has never done before,” said Stacey Shively, chief merchandising officer for The Container Store. “We have an increased focus on complementary products to the storage and organization offerings our customers love, and this year college shoppers can find everything they need at The Container Store to set up functional college living spaces that are uniquely their own.”
“We’re thrilled that students and families have the opportunity to shop for our products in person at The Container Store in markets that are home to so many colleges and universities,” said Amanda Zuckerman, co-founder and president of Dormify. “With Pinterest pins for ‘dorm room ideas’ topping 14 million, it’s clear that college-bound Gen Zers are looking for inspiration and functional designs that let them express their individuality. We’re excited about our collaboration with The Container Store and to offer these students a curated selection of our best-sellers through our first-ever shop-in-shop experience.”
The Container Store and Dormify are celebrating their partnership with a giveaway on Instagram. Dormify will also use “college brand ambassadors” to share move-in tips, product recommendations and other advice to college students in markets with shops inside Container Store locations.
Students and their parents can also receive a 25 percent off coupon from The Container Store by texting “CLASS” to 22922.
Discussion Questions
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: How will The Container Store and Dormify benefit from their partnership? Do you see Dormify branching out from this partnership to seek similar deals with other retailers or to open its own stores or showrooms?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Lucille DeHart
Principal, MKT Marketing Services/Columbus Consulting
Bob Amster
Principal, Retail Technology Group
For The Container Store, this represents an extension of their business to a new sector of the economy. In which college-age consumers are exposed to the retailer and, with little luck and good execution TCS gains lifetime customers.
I think this is a win for Dormify, The Container Store, the students, and their parents as one stop shopping will simplify the move. I do see a void left by Bed Bath & Beyond (even with the Overstock deal) that this combination will help fill, along with Amazon. Two issues are shipping and potentially assembly. It is hard to ship products to campus, and mom and dad’s car is probably already full.
The Container Store does have a “College Shop” section on their site, but having a store within driving distance of the campus is what will fill more dorm rooms with the goods. I can also see Dormify expanding this concept by partnering with others like, for example, Barnes & Noble College Book Stores.
This is a great case for retail synergy. With Bed Bath & Beyond and their sizable college program extinct, this is a smart move to pick up market share and bring in new/younger customers.
Well the former Bed Bath shop where you live, deliver to your school town program is no more, so there is space for something like this. I have a little trouble reconciling the higher price points of the container store to what looks like more affordable Dormify and for TCS how much margin will they earn hosting someone else’s lower cost product in their stores. Still anything that doesn’t take up too much space, and gets customers across the store threshold can’t be bad for business.
With two college-age daughters, aesthetics and design and having the inspired look they want in a dorm room is an integral part of starting the first year at the university. It’s a smart move for the Container Store to partner with Dormify to engage with those students/consumers because Dormify speaks the Gen Z language and is aligned with their styles while the container store has many more practical solutions for the dorm. It’s a one-stop shop and it not only fills a void from Bed Bath and Beyond but now can provide a good alternative to Target and Walmart.
I love it when a brand + brand or a brand + retailer equation gives everyone a 1 + 1 = 3 outcome. It’s a next level, turbocharged wholesale relationship. A true partnership that accelerates the reach for both partners. Both brands are stronger as a result of this collaboration. Synergy is a thing of beauty.
Gone are the days when students decorated their dorm rooms with cinderblock shelves and milk carton end tables. Students (parents) have really bumped up spending in Back To College categories, especially decor, and furnishings. The synergy between these two organizations and their product lines is really strong. They’re both focused on the same customer but with complementary product lines. This should be very successful.
This is standard store-in-store offers. The result should be higher traffic at these stores, especially during back-to-school season later this summer. The Dormify relationship brings in a specific customer base for the Container Store that can take advantages of the assortment while Dormify is able to distribute their wares through physical stores both as a showroom and purchase point. Certainly, Dormify can expand to other stores, but not until they’ve tested and expanded their business through The Container Store. These types of deals are entry point opportunities, although some go on to become long term relationships. This is just the first stage and much will depend on the success of Dormify product sales this coming season.
Yes, yes, and yes to adjacent-brand collaborations that drive mutually beneficial traffic! More of this, please!
When two of my grandchildren went off to boarding school, Bed, Bath & Beyond was the place to fill go to fill the dorm room. I don’t know if the demise of BB&B had anything to do with this initiative, but if yes, or no, it is the perfect endeavor for both companies.
My only question is what more will the students need. When my kids went off to college some 30 years ago, they needed everything to make their rooms livable. This fall I have two grandchildren going off to college. Unlike 30 years ago, their dorm rooms seem to have everything but sheets and towels. They even have refrigerators. Maybe that opens the opportunity to focus on personalization.
The store within at store concept has been successful for several retailers and will continue to grow in many retail segments. This is the first step for Dormify and I would expect that after they work out the operational issues they will expand to other retailers that have footprints close to major campus locations.
I believe there will need to be a good value proposition now when getting into that arena no matter who it is. I see Target, Walmart, possibly Amazon and some regionals getting into the game to offer that value proposition- trendy at a great price.
This is a win for all stakeholders involved. Having had several kids on college, the ability to find a variety of differentiated items for your children at decent prices is a huge deal. I can see this partnership successfully grow over time.
The partnership will benefit The Container Store and Dormify, as well as college students. Having a physical store near campuses is a huge benefit to Dormify, as some shoppers want to see and touch the items rather than just order online. The store-within-a-store concept has been a hot trend lately and when it is a good fit, it can be a good strategy for both parties involved.
Smart logical extension to product line, channel, and most importantly new customers with great potential lifetime value for both The Container Store and Dormify. Based on my experience, The Container Store does a great job of customer experience and execution, key in retaining new customers and driving increased value. Seems like a good win/win partnership that creates customer value.
Smart to step into the void left by Bed, Bath & Beyond. Partnering with Container Store and having a physical presence will help students and parents bring a dull dorm room to life.
As we saw recently with Nike, many brands who pivoted to DTC during the pandemic are now turning back to wholesale to boost growth, clean out inventory and meet their customers where they are. This partnership will not only benefit The Container Store in bringing new customers in-store, but also help Dormify to strengthen their wholesale strategy. It’s also an interesting move for The Container Store given the recent closings of Bed, Bath and Beyond. I think this partnership allows The Container Store to fill the void that Bed, Bath and Beyond left. Across Retail, I expect we’ll see a lot more of these DTC and in-store partnerships over the coming months.