Kmart, Martha Stewart dig for gold in L&G - new lawn and garden product line

Discount Store News, Feb 8, 1999 by Jason Gonzalez

NEW YORK -- Riding a continuing wave of flattering reviews and robust sales, Kmart and Martha Stewart last month launched the long-anticipated expansion of their Martha Stewart Everyday franchise into the lawn & garden category.

The new Martha Stewart Everyday Garden line, officially introduced here on Jan. 21, consists of more than 50 skus of patio furniture, garden tools and bagged fertilizers and pesticides. The MSE Garden collection was designed to appeal to the midrange and upscale garden aficionado with price points ranging from $3.99 for a simple hand trowel to $799.00 for the five-piece Southampton patio dining set.

The MSE Garden program seeks to extend the winning combination of Martha Stewart-inspired designs to a popular merchandise/hobby category with consumers. Both companies are committed to expanding the MSE line to any logical category in the store. Line extensions are expected in baby and tabletop.

The Martha Stewart and Kmart collaboration is now "the second-most recognized brand in the industry," said Kmart chair- man, president and ceo Floyd Hall. "[The new line] brings Martha Stewart fashion and quality to outdoor living and gardening."

Hall said the garden and patio additions would keep the MSE program's momentum strong heading into 1999. Kmart's MSE bed, bath and paint assortments registered 1998 sales of $800 million, Hall said. Though it fell short of the $1 billion mark that Martha Stewart had projected last year, it was nearly double the $450 million it earned during its inaugural nine months in 1997.

Kmart started rolling out the MSE Garden program in January to its Southern stores. Cecil Kearse, Kmart's senior vp/gmm, told DSN that MSE Garden will be introduced to additional markets as the weather warms. By April, Kmart expects the line to be available nationwide.

The MSE Garden collection consists of three product groupings: patio furniture (10 collections); garden tools and accessories (37 skus); and fertilizers/pesticides (13 skus). Six manufacturers- Arden, Collins International, Compex, Grand Basket, JRA Furniture and Leonard Klein-are producing the items for Kmart and MSE.

Bedding plants will become part of the line next year, after many of the items have had sufficient time to cultivate. Some live plants will be avail-able this year, however.

The patio furniture is clearly the crown jewel of the collection, as both Hall and Martha Stewart spent large portions of their speaking time describing the details of the sets. Whether it was the Charleston set ($299), the Victoria ($429) or Southampton ($799), each featured oversized chairs, etched glass tabletops and giant umbrellas.

With the high-concept garden merchandise, Kmart is betting that it can win a greater percentage of what it cites as a base of 55 million customers who spend $18.5 billion on lawn and garden products in the United States. Hall said that 85% of the market is made up of two kinds of lawn and garden enthusiasts: maintainers, or those who want a nice yard but can only spend about five hours per week gardening; and growers, who are people who spend nine or more hours per week with their lawns and demand higher-quality goods.

Don Keeble, Kmart's executive vp of store operations, said MSE Garden would attract both customer segments.

"Martha Stewart's name is instant credibility," Keeble said. "This gives us the ability to bring a lawn and garden customer to Kmart who never shopped there before."