Martha Stewart Lands at Home Depot (MSO, HD, SHLD, M)

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (NYSE: MSO) has a new exclusive product lineup partner. We still want to know where Martha will end up after the K-Mart deal she has with Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) expires, although a new partnership unveiled today does not specifically address that question and does not sound  “exclusive” despite the term being used.

The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) announced an agreement today with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to develop an exclusive Martha Stewart Living brand of home improvement products.  It was not noted that this will have any impact on the K-Mart agreement and it still notes that Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) is one of the many retailers where Martha Stewart products will be available.

The new agreement announced today is to develop an exclusive Martha Stewart Living brand in select categories that includes Outdoor Living, Home Organization and Home Decor.  The companies both noted that this partnership is one of true collaboration to work side by side with The Home Depot merchant and design teams to produce a brand that allows customers to easily coordinate decor and design elements when taking on home improvement projects.

Products in the Outdoor Living category will start launching in January 2010 in the U.S. and will launch in Canada in February 2010. Products in the Home Organization categories will launch in February 2010. The release noted that the Outdoor Living line will be different styles of patio dining and conversation sets with from $399 to $1,999.  The Home Organization category will feature a new closet organization system and a versatile nine-cube organizational unit.  Additional product offerings will be available in 2010, and more details on those products will be announced in the first part of 2010.

Martha Stewart and her team of designers are working with The Home Depot merchant and design teams to produce a brand that allows customers to easily coordinate decor and design elements when taking on home improvement projects.

Eddie Lampert was reportedly not a happy camper when the Macy’s deal was announced earlier this decade.  This is probably going to be another source of unhappiness considering how troubled K-Mart and Sears have been during these tough times.  We have heard what feels like too many issues both good and bad to add any further color over what the future of Martha & K-Mart will be.

Martha’s shareholders seem to be at least a little happy about the deal.  Shares are up 3.6% at $7.10 in the after-hours session and the 52-week trading range is $1.60 to $9.99.

Jon C. Ogg
September 14, 2009