The Stewart mystique: will the gamble pay off? - Martha Stewart, home fashions spokeswoman - K mart's Fresh New Face

Discount Store News, Dec 17, 1990 by Laura Liebeck, Don Longo

The Stewart Mystique: Will the Gamble Pay Off?

When Kmart introduced lifestyle author Martha Stewart as its home fashions spokeswoman in 1987, it looked like the discounter was hoping to duplicate the fantastic success it had utilizing actress Jaclyn Smith as its apparel spokeswoman.

The popular TV actress helped Kmart differentiate its apparel offerings from competitors. Her popularity with much of middle America was both a marketing and merchandising advantage for the discounter.

While Kmart has yet to leverage the Martha Stewart name into that kind of marketing edge, the discounter is redefining the program for next year. The original wide-ranging effort to use the Martha Stewart personality to promote all kinds of home products, from dinnerware to do-it-yourself supplies, was found to be unwieldly and the chain is now reining in the program to encompass just bed & bath products in 1991.

In an interview with DSN, Martha Stewart said that she is excited about a line of soft bath products she has created for Kmart to coordinate with items for the bedroom.

This spring, two floral designs will be introduced in her new signature bed & bath program. One of the patterns features lots of white with yellow, pink, blue and green pastel flowers. The other design will have cabbage roses on a mint green ground, Stewart told DSN.

The 1991 program features complete bed ensembles and coordinating window treatments, wallpaper borders, bath towel, including embroidered bath towels, and bed & bath accessories.

Stewart said she is particularly pleased with the two spring designs, slated for release in March, because the bed linens will be available in 180-count, 50/50 cotton/ - polyester percale, an upgrade from her previous designs.

In addition, the designs will be accompanied by a new line of Martha Stewart sewing patterns that will enable consumers to customized their rooms according to their needs. These sewing patterns will be accompanied by bolt fabric in the same pattern, one of the hottest categories in the coordination arena.

As is the case with other fashion products, the new Martha Stewart program will be released on a spring/fall schedule and replace all current designs. The exception is the new beige and blue stripe damask, only recently introduced. The "Martha's Garden" pattern - which she said was a strong seller - is being dropped.

The new floral designs, currently without specific names, will be accompanied by new customized in-store fixtures, signage, packaging, as well as an advertising campaign.

The new packaging will feature her name, the name of the design and that of the manufacturer, either Wamsutta or J.P. Stevens, but not Kmart's, said Stewart.

The advertising program is progressing more slowly than Stewart would like, she said, but noted that the current economy is affecting the size of the advertising budget, which is not as aggressive as in the past two years.

Kmart is using Stewart as a spokeswoman for bed & bath only this year, cutting back on the broad brush approach originally outlined.

"We had too broad a focus with Martha Stewart at first," said Bill Underwood, senior vice president, merchandising. "We narrowed it down to where Kmart can be effective."

Stewart was an accomplished cookbook and lifestyle editor prior to joining Kmart in 1987 as its home entertaining and lifestyle consultant.

Since her association with Kmart, Stewart has helped the discounter punch up both the content and presentation of its home fashions departments. But probably her greatest accomplishment has been offering her name in association with the chain.

By concentrating Stewart on bed & bath, Kmart is looking to create a unique position for itself in the market.

These products could become even more valued by consumers as Stewart's celebrity status rises. She just debuted her new lifestyle magazine, "Martha Stewart's Lifestyle," and is readying the release of her newest book, "Martha Stewart's Gardening," expected next September. And she is in preliminary negotiations with Time-Warner to create a television series promoting her lifestyle and creative talents.

All of these projects will further thrust Stewart into the limelight, thanks to TV appearances on the morning news programs and afternoon and evening talk shows.

Stewart presents a stylish persona for Kmart in her personal and professional taste and public image.

She is very supportive of Kmart's upgrade program and new advertising focus, commenting that the chain's new direction is giving it "style." The use of a spokeswoman, she said, "adds an aura to a product and a viability."

Certainly, Kmart executives are banking on that.

Readying designs and colorations for the new bed & bath line has taken painstaking effort on both sides. Of Wendy Wark, Kmart's new home fashions merchandiser (who replaced the original head of the Stewart program, Marilyn Gill, this year), Stewart said: "Wendy has a great sensitivity to my style and she has great taste."

In preparing the upcoming program, Stewart - as she did for the first few designs - reviewed fabric documents, which she has collected for many years, studied them and worked with mills to produce samples.