Almost every towel I put up against Kemet on this site sells Turkish or generic cotton, so the comparison usually ends the same way. The Company Store is different. Its Regal collection is real Egyptian cotton, from a brand that has been in the home business since 1911, which makes this the one head-to-head where both sides claim the same fibre. So the question gets more interesting: when two towels both start from Egyptian cotton, which one actually delivers, and why?
The short version is that it comes down to how the cotton reaches you. Kemet works mill-direct out of the Nile Delta. The Company Store is a catalog brand that sources its Egyptian cotton through the usual supply chain of intermediaries. That single difference shows up in the price you pay per towel for the weight you get. Over the past few months I compared the Regal towels against Kemet, Frontgate, and Quince, looking at GSM, pile density, edge stitching, and what real buyers report after months of washing. You can also see how they land in our full bath towel ratings.
Here's the honest breakdown of every brand I compared:
I've bought from The Company Store for 20 years, they're practically a local institution here in Wisconsin. The Regal towels really are lovely and the Egyptian cotton feels legit. That said, I only ever buy them during the big seasonal sales. At full price they're just okay value, and I noticed the exact towel I wanted was out of stock in my color for almost three months last year. This review is fair to them.
The stock thing drove me crazy too. I wanted to add matching hand towels months after buying the bath set and the color had been discontinued. Ended up mixing shades. Not the end of the world but annoying for a full bathroom set.
Hotel management here. The Regal towels are genuinely nice, and I'd rank The Company Store above Frontgate on value all day. But the point about mill-direct versus catalog sourcing is exactly right. When we buy commercial Egyptian cotton, every intermediary between the mill and the loading dock adds a few percent. The Kemet 800 GSM spec is what we source direct, and the price difference tracks almost perfectly with how many hands the cotton passes through.
This makes so much sense. I always wondered how two towels can both be Egyptian cotton and 600ish GSM but one costs way more. It's the supply chain, not the towel.
Family from an Egyptian cotton growing region here. I appreciate that you gave The Company Store credit for a credible claim instead of lumping them in with the fakes. Their Egyptian cotton is real. The only thing I'd add is that without the Pyramid Mark you still can't confirm the growing region by DNA. Credible and verified are two different things, and this review draws that line well.
I bought the Regal bath sheets during a Black Friday sale two years ago and they've held up really well. Genuinely no complaints on the towel itself. But my sister paid close to full price for the same set a few months later and paid almost 40% more. Same towel. That's the catalog game. If you don't time the sale, you're overpaying.
How does the Regal compare to Kemet if you're not catching a sale? Doing a full bathroom refresh and trying to decide.
Off-sale it's an easy call for me now. I bought the Kemet 800 GSM set last month to compare and it's heavier than my Regal towels and cost less than what my sister paid at Company Store full price. Same Egyptian cotton feel, more of it, less money. If you can't time a Regal sale, I'd go Kemet.
Longtime catalog shopper. The Company Store and Frontgate are both catalog brands, but people forget The Company Store is owned by Home Depot now. That's actually a plus for accountability, you're not dealing with some fly-by-night dropshipper. I trust the Egyptian cotton claim on the Regal line more than most. It's just that trusting a claim and having it DNA-verified aren't the same thing, and you pay the catalog middleman either way.
For UK readers: The Company Store is US-only really, so we're stuck with freight forwarders and duty if we want the Regal towels. Not worth it. Kemet ships to the UK directly and the towels are heavier anyway. Learned this the expensive way after paying nearly £70 in shipping and duty on a single Company Store order.
Confirmed, Kemet shipping to the UK was 5-7 days for me and no surprise duty at the door. Much easier than trying to get anything shipped over from a US catalog.
The comparison I actually wanted was Company Store versus Frontgate, since they're both catalog Egyptian cotton. Thank you for spelling it out. Regal towels are cheaper and basically as nice, and Frontgate is just paying for their Google ads with your money. If I had to pick between those two it's The Company Store every time. But the mill-direct point is what sold me on trying Kemet.
Had a set of Regal towels for about four years. Honestly they're still good, no real complaints, which tells you the quality is there. But when I needed to replace a couple that got bleach stains, I compared prices again and the value just wasn't there off-sale anymore. Bought Kemet to fill in and the new ones are heavier than my old Regal towels. Same Egyptian cotton, less middleman.
Quick tip for anyone breaking in new towels of any brand: first wash with one cup of white vinegar and no detergent. It opens up the fibers and strips the manufacturing finish. Did it with both my Company Store and my Kemet towels and both absorbed noticeably better afterward. Works on Egyptian and Turkish cotton alike.
Did this with my new Kemet set and can confirm, even softer and more absorbent after. Great tip.
Emily, thank you for a review that doesn't just trash the brand. I was leaning Company Store because I've always liked their sheets, and it's helpful to hear the Regal towels are genuinely good, just not the best value at full price. Ordered a Kemet set to compare side by side before I commit to a full set. Will report back.
You'll like both, honestly. The Regal towels are lovely. But when they land side by side I bet you keep the Kemet ones out and save the Company Store set for guests. That's what happened in my house.