Skip NavigationMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPoliticsVideoWatchlistInvesting Club
PRO
LivestreamMenu
- Hollister is partnering with Target to start selling home and dorm decor for the first time, giving it an opening into the lucrative back-to-college shopping market.
- The collaboration will launch online, in most Target stores and select Hollister locations on June 28 and will feature almost 60 items across men’s and women’s apparel and bedding.
- Last year, the back-to-college shopping market reached $88.8 billion, with dorm or apartment furnishings totaling $12.8 billion in spending, second only to electronics or computer-related equipment, according to the National Retail Federation.
Courtesy: Hollister
Abercrombie & Fitch‘s Hollister is branching out of its apparel roots and partnering with Target to start selling home and dorm decor for the first time as both brands look to new categories to drive growth.
The collaboration, dubbed The Hollister Collection at Target, will launch online, in most Target stores and select Hollister locations on June 28 and will feature almost 60 items across men’s and women’s apparel and bedding.
Hollister’s tie-up with Target comes as both companies contend with declines in discretionary spending and waning consumer confidence, which have forced retailers to get creative to entice shoppers to spend.
Hollister, Abercrombie’s brand targeting shoppers ages 13 to 22, has been comfortably growing for much of the past year but is looking to become more of a lifestyle brand that sells more than clothes. By offering a wider assortment, especially across a larger footprint, Hollister can acquire new customers, encourage existing shoppers to spend more and create a new pipeline for organic growth.
On the other hand, Target already has a large home and dorm decor department but has long leaned on brand collaborations as a competitive differentiator, especially because they’re not as common at rival Walmart. Across the business, it has regularly brought in buzzy names like Kendra Scott, Diane von Furstenberg, Bombas and Champion, even before it was dealing with sluggish sales and shrinking profits.
For both companies, the collaboration offers access to the lucrative back-to-college shopping market, which reached $88.8 billion last year, or about $1,325 in spending per person that participates, according to data from the National Retail Federation.
Within that market, spending on dorm or apartment furnishings has been steadily growing for more than a decade. In 2025, it reached $12.8 billion, second only to electronics or computer-related equipment.
Hollister’s expansion into home and dorm decor comes as sister brand Abercrombie & Fitch expands into outside footwear brands like Puma, Sperry and Hunter as a means to drive growth. In interviews with CNBC, executives said category expansion across the business can both draw in new customers and entice existing shoppers to spend more.
With Target’s “brick-and-mortar presence, we should be able to expose the Hollister brand to people who aren’t shopping with us today,” said Corey Robinson, the company’s chief product officer, overseeing both the Abercrombie and Hollister brands. “And then with those customers who love us so much today, to be able to be an even bigger part of their lives is something we’re looking forward to.”
Under the terms of the collaboration, Hollister and Target are working together to design the products while Target, given its expertise in the space, will handle manufacturing, Robinson said. The collaboration will last at least through next year with drops expected during the fall, holiday and spring 2027 shopping seasons.
“Moving beyond just bedding and thinking about blankets, wearable blankets, plush, that’s how we will evolve the partnership,” Robinson said. “With our target age, dorm is top of mind. From a seasonality perspective, there’s a lot of ways you can refresh your dorm, and decorate with newness based on seasonality.”
About The Author
