CHICAGO _ Crate and Barrel is hoping an endorsement from actress Reese Witherspoon can boost sales this holiday season.
The furniture and home goods retailer, based in suburban Chicago, said on Tuesday it has cast Witherspoon as its first celebrity ambassador.
But the partnership with Witherspoon, also a producer and creator of lifestyle brand Draper James, goes beyond the ad campaign. Crate and Barrel will carry some Draper James gift items during the holidays, and the brands will collaborate on collections that will be sold next spring and summer "and beyond," Crate and Barrel said in a news release.
"We are honored to work with Reese, who expresses so many of the best qualities of our brand _ style, warmth, and optimism," Crate and Barrel President Steve Woodward said in a news release. "Reese has shown the world she has an eye for design, and we're thrilled for her to showcase that as an ambassador for the company. Reese truly brings the unique Crate and Barrel experience and spirit to life."
Crate and Barrel is calling the ad campaign "Make This Season Merry and Just Right." A video posted to the retailer's website shows party guests praising Witherspoon's entertaining skills, mixed with shots of the less-polished prep work, including a mishap practicing a flaming cocktail.
In teaming up with Draper James on exclusive, jointly designed collections, Crate and Barrel will be facing off against Target, which announced a celebrity home goods partnership of its own last month with the stars of the HGTV show "Fixer Upper," Chip and Joanna Gaines.
Hearth & Hand with Magnolia, Target's exclusive line of home and lifestyle goods created with the Gaines' brand, is one of more than a dozen new brands Target is introducing to attract customers with Target-only brands and will go on sale in November.
Crate and Barrel has seen turnover in its leadership in the last few years. Neela Montgomery, executive board member at Crate and Barrel's parent company, the Otto Group, became Crate and Barrel CEO in August. She had stepped in as interim CEO after Doug Diemoz's abrupt departure in April, less than two years after his arrival at Crate and Barrel.
