When Sears launched their Ty Pennington Style home collection last year, I was really curious to see what new changes this would bring to Sears. Previously, Sears had tried their “come see the softer side…” campaign, which, frankly, didn’t do much to impress me. But I think with the success of Target’s home collection, as well as Martha’s collection at Kmart, the other mass retailers are quickly learning that by updating their home departments, they can jumpstart a brand revamp. When I first saw the Ty Pennington collection, the bedding collection stood out to me the most. I especially loved this “firebird” pillow, as well as this “bali hi” set (both on sale/clearance now). (although it kind of annoyed me that you had to buy the whole “set”- with the exception of throw pillows, they didn’t sell the bed stuff individually.) Anyways… I could go on about individual things that are suprisingly really good about the initial TPS collection, but what this post is really about is what is happening now. I recently stopped by Sears and noticed they had these signs everywhere, touting “Simply Indoors”– as the new name of their home department. So of course I had to take a looksee. I found some really interesting things.
Great bedding assortments, dinnerware sets, tchotchkes… but the biggest news is that they’re doing furniture pieces. And some aren’t half bad- the models in the store were not all ding’d up and on the verge of falling apart, (as they are when you go to Target.) They are offering a few “collections”, that follow the Target way of grouping, ie. “trend” “timeless” “tailored”… (much like Target’s “global home” “classic home” “Modern home”, etc..) then they have three “designer” brands – Ty Pennington, Luxe, and Grace-
Overall, each collection is presented in a really easy to follow, yet contemporary way- with something for every taste/style. Sears isn’t going waay fabulous trendy- but they definitely are now “on trend”, particularily for the more modern aesthetics. They had some great pieces that were reasonably priced and with items that are current. I’m just glad that for those that don’t always have easy access to hip boutiques (ie. us suburbanites), we now have another option available… check it out if you get a chance. The online site gives a good representation- I think you’ll be as surprised as I was… (and probably will walk away with a few things too!)
