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."
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
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