Bed Bath & Beyond gets students Squared Away for college
Bed Bath & Beyond’s sixth owned brand of the year has officially launched — the Squared Away line of storage, laundry care and organization products target college students preparing for dorm life as well as homeowners looking to reduce clutter.
The Squared Away brand follows Wild Sage, a store brand that speaks to younger shoppers through an eclectic mix of stylish home goods for decorating, whereas Squared Away offers younger shoppers a way to organize their dorms and bedrooms. In fact, the retailer has included Squared Away products in its “College, Happier" campaign that includes a College Savings Pass feature, or a way for college students to get 20% off all their college purchases, as well as an improved Pack & Hold service that makes it easier to get purchases sent to their college town.
Digital tools to reach younger shoppers are also part of the campaign including online back-to-school checklists and a 3-D virtual tool from Decorist for Bed Bath & Beyond that enables users to start with an on-campus or off-campus room set-up, then pick virtual products like furniture, decor, bedding and storage to fill the room, and lastly see what they like. Final products can be added to a cart or saved to their college registry wish list, which can be shared to family and friends.
As touted last month, Bed Bath & Beyond introduced three new owned brands for the summer: Our Table, Wild Sage and Squared Away. Our Table cookware products launched first, supported by a virtual cooking series, Wild Sage hit in June, and Squared Away comes this month.
Squared Away
The store brands join the three launches in spring — Simply Essential and Haven in May, and Nestwell in April. The introduction of at least 10 total owned brands will be introduced by February 2022, a key component of the company’s three-year transformation strategy, which includes a goal to triple the sales penetration of owned brands from 10% to approximately 30% over three years.
For Squared Away, the multi-purpose storage products aim to help consumers reduce the clutter in their homes, an issue that has risen with more Americans spending more time at home. “Squared Away brings together style, design and functionality to help customers easily declutter both their homes and, by extension, their minds,” said Joe Hartsig, EVP, chief merchandising officer, Bed Bath & Beyond, and president of Harmon Stores. “The multi-functional collection offers solutions for all spaces, big and small, and makes smart organization easier than ever. We’re introducing the line just in time for Back-to-College when we know that parents and students are seeking storage and organizational solutions to optimize their living spaces.”
The company said Squared Away was inspired by the insight that clutter-free spaces promote an uncluttered mind, citing an article in the Harvard Business Review that said, “Clutter can affect our general mental health, making us feel stressed, anxious, or depressed.” Through July 19, customers can go to the Bed Bath & Beyond Facebook page to share their organizational pain points and enter to win a storage and organization make-over with Squared Away products, coupled with a free consultation and Accessory Refresh from Decorist, Bed Bath & Beyond’s sister company offering professional online interior design services.
The Squared Away products themselves aim to be pragmatic and efficient, leveraging an array of sturdy materials such as wood and stainless steel. The assortment includes storage solutions for the bedroom, bathroom and laundry room, kitchen and office such as:
- Closet storage and organizers: hangers, shoe racks, wardrobe organizers, bedside caddies and storage carts;
- Bath storage and organizers: bath storage carts, under sink sliding trays, under sink stack boxes, countertop vanity organizers and more;
- Laundry care: collapsible laundry baskets, laundry hampers, laundry sorters and ironing boards;
- Kitchen storage and organizers (available beginning October 2021): utensil trays, cabinet organizers, fridge organizers and more.