Kmart Rejuvenates Jaclyn Smith So Shoppers Forget Martha Stewart

As recently detailed in this blog, Sears is giving apparel a boost with new styles and some holiday purchasing incentives, but sibling Kmart also has been vigorously reinventing a fashion program that's facing a big void with the loss of the Martha Stewart Everyday brand.

Over the past couple of years, Kmart has made the reinvigoration of the Jaclyn Smith brand the centerpiece of its fashion efforts. In the 1990s, the brand was among the highest-profile and best-selling mass-market labels, but at the turn of the century, the Martha Stewart and Kathy Ireland brands were getting more emphasis from the retailer. Ironically, both brands, and the people they were named for, had problems with how Kmart handled their labels, which has lead to a gradual retreat from its sales floors. With Kmart, you can't consider apparel without home fashion and Martha Stewart. Even if the Martha Stewart Everyday label has been the retailer's most conspicuous, her brand and those of Smith and Ireland have been reflections of each other in many respects. A last ditch attempt to keep Martha Stewart products in Kmart stores recently failed, but the writing was on the wall for more than three years. Back then negotiations proceeded about extending Martha Stewart products into Sears. A deal seemed logical from the point in 2004 when Kmart's chairman Edward Lampert managed a merger of the two chains and brought them under the control of the newly formed Sears Holding (SHLD), or, to put it another way, under his control. Add to that, Martha already had forged a deal to sell products in Sears Canada. Yet the discussions regarding U.S Sears stores faltered amid speculation of a Stewart versus Lampert ego clash. From that point, the Martha Stewart Everyday brand seemed increasingly certain to exit Kmart when the contract covering it ended in January 2010.

With Ireland distancing herself from Kmart as well, and shifting emphasis from apparel to home, the retailer lost her as a potential resources as well. So reenter Jaclyn Smith. Indeed, the retailer took a page from Ireland's book and introduced a Jaclyn Smith home collection not long after beginning its apparel push on the brand. In giving a lift to the Smith label, though, Kmart has done more than roll out home furnishings. It essentially reintroduced the brand last year and has since developed carefully crafted apparel collections updated seasonally, as its recently unveiled spring lookbook reveals. Smith's involvement acts as a guarantee to the company's shoppers that they're getting up-to-date looks but nothing too crazy. Also, the relaunch casts the overall apparel category at Kmart in a fresh light with new merchandising that also bolsters long-time Kmart programs including Joe Boxer and its Route 66 private label. As it has polished up the Smith label, Kmart launched National Basketball Association star Al Harrington's Protégé brand of footwear and clothing. Then, in August, in announced the debut of Thre3 a sportswear line developed with USPA Properties, a subsidiary of the United States Polo Association. And, for kids, Kmart's new Dora Loves Puppy collection â€" associated with the Dora the Explorer character from Nickelodeon â€" launches for the holidays with a critical apparel component.

Even though it has introduced new programs, Kmart's fashion effort remains wrapped up with brands it developed three decades ago. Then again, Kmart did a lot to pioneer how mass-market retailers deal with design and designers. Kmart went with personalities that had forged credibility for their taste through media exposure rather than the traditional design studio, then used their names to developed mass-market labels associated with popular aspirations they represented. Without Kmart, folks like Daisy Fuentes and Lauren Conrad probably couldn't have morphed into Kohl's designers, not to mention Jessica Simpson at Macy's.

Yet, as Martha exits, observers are questioning if Kmart can survive without its most popular brand to draw customers. Certainly, the departure will reveal if Kmart's brand strategy continues to be effective or if it was just Martha after all. Sears Holdings posted a loss in the second quarter after surprising analysts with a profit in the first on improved inventory efficiencies. Unexpected profits aside, the company's comparable stores sales, those in stores open for a year and a critical measure of where it stands with its customers, have been declining going back to mid-decade. If Al Harrington, Dora the Explorer and especially Jaclyn Smith can't hold Kmart's customers, a shaky Sears Holding will be a bit shakier.