JCP gives peek at Martha merch

HTT Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 2/12/2013 12:17:59 PM

Planto, Texas - In a recent interview with the Dallas Morning News, JCPenney ceo Ron Johnson disclosed some details about what merchandise in the revamped home store will carry Martha Stewart branding.
"For now, Martha Stewart's name is on rugs, window coverings and two new lines, Martha Stewart Pantry, a collection of food mixes, and Martha Stewart Celebration, a large selection of paper party products," the paper reported.
A lawsuit by Macy's - which claims to have an exclusive on Stewart-branded bed, bath, tabletop, cookware and furniture - is keeping her name off those categories at present. Instead, JCP will brand those products as Everyday - an echo of the Everyday by Martha Stewart brand that once did $1 billion as a Kmart exclusive. Stewart's alliance with Kmart ended in 2009.
The Stewart shop-in-shops at JCPenney, the anchor to a revamped home department, were originally scheduled to roll out March 1. According to the Dallas Morning News, the new target is by Mother's Day (May 12) in 536 of the company's 1,100 stores.
In a sign of how important the home relaunch is to the company, Johnson told the paper the biggest piece of JCP's marketing spend in 2013 will be focused on "the world's largest housewarming party."
The Macy's case against Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and JCP goes to trial Feb. 20. Last fall, the judge in the case expressed displeasure with the parties for failing to reach a compromise among themselves.
Elsewhere in the Dallas Morning News article, Johnson said he does not plan to close stores and declined to address what he termed an "unfounded rumor" about additional layoffs.