Martha Stewart’s merchandise at Kmart will have a new collection after nearly 10 years. Sales of the Martha Stewart line never really took off and contract tussles made everything worse. The new line that is to be launched next week will have a higher quality of bed and bath linens at lower prices than before. Interestingly, her new collection will also be debuting at Macy’s, which might well be the reason for its relaunch at Kmart after so many years of decline and neglect.

Kmart’s contract with Martha Stewart expires in 2009, so the emphasis is to attract consumers with a discerning eye for good quality and low prices. Along with its Martha Stewart launch, Kmart will also be introducing a new brand Abbey Hill, which is a private label of the company and will offer a better mix-and-match of colors and patterns for customers.


“There has been a lot of disruption” over the years in Kmart’s relationship with Martha Stewart, admits Bill Stewart, the Kmart executive. But “we worked very collaboratively with the Martha Stewart team on this project,” he said in an interview Tuesday.