Bernhardt signs Martha
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, November 5, 2001
LENOIR, N.C. — At long last, fashion powerhouse Martha Stewart is lending her name to a full furniture collection, teaming with high-end major Bernhardt.
The licensed line is scheduled to be introduced at the October 2002 High Point market and to be available to select retailers and department stores in early 2003.
Bernhardt's collection of case goods and upholstery will be part of the Martha Stewart Signature brand of home products. Separately, Shaw Inds. has agreed to develop a floor covering line for the Signature brand, which will be positioned above the Martha Stewart Everyday brand of mass-market products in ticket size, price points and in-store service levels.
Stewart has had a successful line of home products including fabrics and outdoor goods, and her entry into indoor furniture has been anticipated.
"We are very excited to be a partner in the new Martha Stewart Signature brand," said Alex Bernhardt Sr., chairman and chief executive officer of Bernhardt. "Martha Stewart is known as an authority on all things to do with the home, and it only makes sense that she offer a line of furniture to her consumers."
Stewart said the expansion of her Signature brand into furniture and floor coverings is a significant step in her company's goal of providing higher-end consumers a range of products for whole-home decorating using her unique approach.
"By offering consumers an integrated approach through our Martha Stewart Signature offerings, now including floor coverings and furniture, they will have the tools they need to decorate room-by-room, floor-to-ceiling, in a step-by-step program," Stewart said.
The piece assortment and styling for the first round of Martha Stewart Signature furniture already is in development, said Rountree Collett, chief financial officer and executive vice president of residential case goods for Bernhardt. It's still too early to nail down the size of the collection and styling details, he said.
"We've held some product development meetings and that was one of the things that got us most excited about working with this group," Collett said. "Part of what we want to do with this is tap into the consumer clout the Martha Stewart brand can deliver. It's a fairly broad range of styles she's addressing."
This is Bernhardt's first licensed collection. The company had considered licensing opportunities before, but hadn't found a partner who could add enough to the process to justify the manufacturer relinquishing autonomy, Collett said.
"If you look at Martha Stewart Living, you realize it's a multimedia, far-reaching operation," he said. "They have marketing clout and savvy that we feel is unique among furniture licensing so far. They have a real sense of what appeals to their consumer."
Stewart is chairman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, an integrated multimedia company organized around publishing, television, merchandising and Internet/direct commerce business segments.
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