Macy’s Sues J.C. Penney in Martha Stewart Brawl

by Angela Nazworth | August 17, 2012 10:02 am

[1]Martha Stewart may be known for making pretty things, but there’s an ugly battle raging in retail land[2], and the domestic diva is front-and-center.

The battle began earlier this year when Macy’s (NYSE:M[3]) served Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE:MSO[4]) with a  lawsuit after Stewart announced plans to open a store in J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP[5]).

Macy’s contends that Stewart’s relationship with J.C. Penney violates the terms of its agreement with the housewares queen. In July, Macy’s won its preliminary injunction against Martha Stewart Living, blocking the company from selling certain items at J.C. Penney.

Earlier this week, Macy’s upped the ante in the fight by suing J.C. Penney.

 Women’s Wear Daily[6] first reported:

“The lawsuit filed today seeks to expand injunctive relief to J.C. Penney[7] and seeks to have J.C. Penney pay damages for its tortious interference with the contract between Macy’s and MSLO,” Macy’s said. “This requested injunction would cover, but is not limited to, any current designs in Macy’s exclusive product categories that were developed by MSLO for J.C. Penney at any time in the past or that may be in the future.

Macy’s plans to continue to fully support its exclusive Martha Stewart-branded product sold in its stores and online under its contract with MSLO, which currently extends through January 2018. Given that this is a matter in litigation, the company will not comment further.”

This isn’t the first time Stewart’s dealings with retailers turned out not to be a “good thing.”

In 2009, Stewart parted ways[8] with Sears Holdings‘ (NASDAQ:SHLD[9]) subsidiary Kmart because she felt the retailer allowed her line of products to “deteriorate.”

There also are retailers that don’t seem to be having issues with Stewart. A plethora of Martha Stewart Living products are available at Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN[10]), Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT[11]), Publix (PINK:PUSH[12]) and other locations. There’s even a Martha Stewart Pet[13] line available at PetSmart (NASDAQ:PETM[14]).

Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/martha-stewart.jpg
  2. battle raging in retail land: http://www.businessinsider.com/now-macys-is-suing-jcpenney-for-trying-to-hire-martha-stewart-2012-8
  3. M: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=M
  4. MSO: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=MSO
  5. JCP: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=JCP
  6. Women’s Wear Daily: http://www.wwd.com/
  7. J.C. Penney: http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/jc-penney
  8. parted ways: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/item_B5pgOzL0zLmNteg9PDRXeO
  9. SHLD: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=SHLD
  10. AMZN: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AMZN
  11. WMT: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=WMT
  12. PUSH: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=PUSH
  13. Martha Stewart Pet: https://investorplace.com/2011/04/martha-stewart-pet-clothing-petsmart-pets/
  14. PETM: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=PETM

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/08/macys-sues-j-c-penney-in-martha-stewart-brawl/