Martha Stewart joins up with Home Depot

By RACHEL TOBIN RAMOS

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Home Depot, purveyor of all things macho, is about get in touch with its sensitive side.

The Atlanta company has signed a deal with Martha Stewart, who will design a new line of products to be sold exclusively at Big Orange stores.

Stewart pursued the deal, which Home Depot agreed to after months of negotiations, company representatives said.

The strategy is a direct swipe at rival Lowe’s, which for years has coveted the female shopper with cleaner store displays and a focus on small appliances and organizational gear.

But it’s also a marketing coup for Home Depot, as Stewart plans to promote the products through her media empire. She has 1.4 million followers on Twitter, where she announced the news Monday, as well as her magazine, TV show and Web portal.

Stewart is no stranger to exclusive agreements with big chains. Her deal with Kmart will expire in January, but at its peak was worth $1 billion in revenues annually, said Robin Marino, CEO of merchandising for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

But the deal with Home Depot could eclipse that, said Marino, “with the potential to be the largest business ever in terms annual retail sales.”

Stewart will design outdoor sets, closet organizers and other décor goods for the chain. One, a patio set called “Pacifica” that will sell for under $400 next year, will get a high-profile debut emblematic of Stewart’s reach: Her 2 p.m. show on NBC will feature in today, (with Home Depot CEO Frank Blake and merchandising chief Craig Menear).

Howard Davidowitz, chairman of Davidowitz & Associates, a retail consulting and investment firm in New York, called this is “a very major deal.”

“The most important thing at Kmart was Martha,” he said. “She is so iconic.” And Home Depot “is desperate to do more business on a store for store basis,” he said.

Home Depot denies it is directly challenging Lowe’s with the Stewart deal; women already are 50 percent of the company’s customers, the company points out.

“Our goal is to get them to stay in the store longer and have more things to choose from,” said Gordy Erickson, senior vice president for Home Depot.