The Container Store, a specialty retailer of storage and organization products, saw record sales in September with the debut of the Netflix show Get Organized with The Home Edit.
The company entered an exclusive partnership with the show, which features expert organizers Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin helping clients "contain their clutter," back in 2019, but the relationship finally paid off in September following the show's launch on the streaming platform.
Sales were up 17.8 percent that month and continued to make gains into October.
"It's just been a fabulous, fabulous partnership," Melissa Reiff, chairwoman and CEO of The Container Store, told Cheddar. "I love those gals. They are so creative. They are so innovative."
The Container Store developed a product line just for the show that was featured extensively in the first season, providing the tools for Shearer and Teplin's interventions, which include the celebrity homes of Reese Witherspoon and Eva Longoria.
In more Netflix-related news, Marie Kondo of Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is launching a collection of organizing tools with The Container Store that's set to hit shelves in 2021.
"We have always tried to cultivate partnerships with appropriate brands, and brands that our customers would really relate to," Reiff said.
Outside of these high-profile partnerships, 2020 has been a strong year for the Texas-based retailer. New interest in DIY home improvement has driven sales in the category.
"Customers are really responding now to more DIY," Reiff said. "We can install your closets, but I think they're feeling gratification now by doing it themselves."
She added that online business was up more than 86 percent in the second quarter.
After briefly shutting down early in the pandemic, The Container Store reopened all 93 locations with curbside pickup and in-store service by appointment. Reiff said the interest in organizing amid the pandemic comes from a natural desire to feel more comfortable in uncertain times.
"I think just as human beings we want to feel safe, secure, and warm," she said. "When you are organized, there is absolutely no doubt about it: It gives you peace. It's less stressful, and our customers are really responding to that."
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