Kmart to cultivate L&G sales through Martha Stewart line - Brief Article

Discount Store News, Feb 21, 2000 by Jennifer Negley

NEW YORK -- Kmart is banking on Martha Stewart's growing product line to help weed out competition in lawn & garden and ripen margins in one of its key departments.

Now the nation's fourth largest seller of L&G (a decade ago it held the top spot), Kmart hopes the new program also will cultivate "new customers not currently shopping the discount channel," said chairman, president and ceo Floyd Hall.

The initiative marks a significant expansion of the 50 skus in the Martha Stewart Everyday lawn & garden line that Kmart introduced in January 1999. The new 1,000-sku line has already begun to appear in warm weather markets and will roll out across the chain in April.

In addition to an increase in sku count, the new program focuses heavily on the process of growing. For example, signage and packaging provide information such as how a particular type of flower got its name or why a French-style watering pot is more effective than a standard variety. The coordinated effort is designed to teach, guide and inspire the consumer after the sale has been made.

"The uniqueness of the concept is that it offers the everyday gardener a complete how-to system," Stewart said when announcing the launch. "We want [the consumer] to be successful from day one."

In addition to making an investment in special fixturing and displays, Kmart will remodel Garden Centers in 200 stores, giving them up to 40% more selling space for the new merchandise.

Key vendors supplying product include Burpee, Scots, New England Pottery and Listo Products. Price points range from $1.99 for peat pots to $499 for patio sets. Product classifications in the line include:

* Potting: Fertilizer mixes in bags (8 dry quarts) or boxes (3 lbs.); peat pellets; plastic cell packs to hold the pellets, ranging from an 8-cell pack to a 72-cell pack; peat pots; and preseeded peat pellets for standard vegetables such as tomatoes and lettuce or flowers such as zinnias and alyssum.

* Seeds: more than 350 varieties of seeds arranged in 13 categories ($1.79 per pack); grouped seed collections containing five packs each ($6.99); pre-seeded mini-pots, including historical information about the flower and growing instructions; greenhouse kits (six mini-pots for $5.99); pre-seeded herb window boxes; and 19 styles of gardening gloves sized for men, women and children and classified by job.

* Watering: garden hoses ranging from 50 ft. ($21.99) to 100 ft. ($31.99); a 2 1/2 gallon galvanized watering can ($19.99); nozzles and sprinklers.

* Long-handled tools: 15 skus including pruning lopers; shovels; hoes; bamboo rakes; and a row marker ($16.99) for demarcating gardening rows or creating borders and paths.

* Pots and planters: 60 skus of outdoor pots that use materials crafted from synthetic and 20 skus of glazed ceramic pots.

* Outdoor lighting: a pack of four lamps (in two design motifs) with a power pack and 75 feet of cable included ($99.99) or individual lamps ($19.99).

* Live plants: more than 399 skus with easy-care instructions and color-coded tags to identify each plant's ideal climate and conditions.

* Grilling: two grills ($159.99), an outdoor cooker and 28 grilling accessories ($1.99 to $19.99). Grills come with recipe booklets, and utensils are packaged with recipes.

* Garden furniture: 10 collections with price points starting at $149 for a 5-piece Palisades set: a 42-in, round table, four folding chairs and cushions.

* Beach and lawn chairs: easy-tote beach chairs with extra-wide seats and extra tall backs. Both chair styles are designed to be chip-resistant with frames made of aluminum, wood or powder-coated steel ($6.99 to $39.99).

Kmart will support the expanded line through special circular promotions, targeted direct mail pieces, billboard ads, a pair of television commercials and a series of eight print ads set to run in spring issues of home, garden and general interest magazines.

The program now makes the Martha Stewart Everyday label the signature brand in five Kmart departments, including bed, bath, kitchen and baby.

Kmart has two more MSE-related introductions on the way in 2000.

This summer it will roll out a complete product assortment to its bluelight.com e-commerce site that it launched in January, including the online introduction of Martha Stewart Everyday product.

In the fall, Kmart will unveil an MSE-branded line of housewares.