New York— Martha Stewart is officially in the flooring business. Less than six months after announcing her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO) and Shaw Industries formed an alliance to produce a collection of floor coverings under her name ( FCNews, Nov. 26/Dec. 3), the line was formerly launched during a press reception at her west side offices here last month. It will be available to consumers starting this summer. The queen of home decorating launched the flooring collection under her newly formed Martha Stewart Signature (MSS) brand, a collection of home furnishings and decorating items geared to the specialty retailer and positioned above the mass-market Martha Stewart Everyday program. Products within the two brands are differentiated by price point, quality and in-store service.

Shaw is considered one of the founding partners, as flooring is the third product to be placed in the MSS offering. MSS was launched in July 1999 with a collection of fabrics, followed by an extensive paint line through Sherwin-Williams in March 2000. Next year, MSS will add furniture through an exclusive arrangement with the renown Bernhardt Furniture company. “This is a red letter day for Shaw Industries, said Bob Shaw, chairman. “We’ve been in business for more than 40 years, and during this time we’ve had a handful of days you can point to that mark a true game change in the business. This is truly one of those days. And, it’s the just the start, not an end.” Stewart called the alliance “the beginning of a fine program.” The home decorating maven praised the flooring manufacturer for its dedication to quality and service, and noted the two have been able to work together in a very productive environment due to the fact they share the “same values and goals.

“First off, anyone who is a friend of Warren Buffet is a friend of mine,” she noted. “He is so abnormally keen on finding the best companies with which to work, and Shaw is definitely one of those. We both pride ourselves on excellent products and customer service. “When we choose partners,” Stewart added, “we look for responsible, quality manufacturers; it’s very important to us. Also, we want to partner with companies that have widespread, practical distribution systems to make it easier for the customer—because it’s all about the customer. And, Shaw exemplifies each of these qualities. “This initial flooring collection took months and months of hard work between both companies to make sure it is just right and it is only the beginning,” the doyenne added. All products under the MSS umbrella are being designed to coordinate and work with each other and Stewart herself oversees each item, including merchandising, to ensure it meets with her standards of color, design and consumer friendliness.

“This integrated, step-by-step approach to decorating provides customers with the tools and information they need to decorate with confidence, room-by-room, floor-to-ceiling,” said Sharon Patrick, MSO’s president and COO. “Each of our affiliated dealers,” she added, “throughout the Martha Stewart Signature Network and family—from floor coverings to fabric to paint colors to furniture—will cross promote all MSS programs and collections to provide specialtytier consumers with the total room/total home decorating solution. MSS is the next bold step in the MSO omnimerchansiding strategy to raise the bar across the entire retail spectrum.” As for the MSS Flooring with Shaw collection, products are featured in each of the six floor covering categories—carpet, area rugs, hardwood, laminate, resilient (linoleum), and tile and stone. The total collection offers more than 800 SKUs. Of those, approximately 500 are represented in the carpet offering, which features 48 core colors, exclusive MSS designs and three core constructions—cut-pile, twist-pile and loop-pile. Products are constructed with Shaw’s patented Softbac Platinum backing and R2X Soil and Stain Resistance. The collection even includes a shag. “Who would have thought of a shag,” Stewart said, “but just look at how beautiful it is and feel how comfortable it is.”

Rugs are being offered in a variety of styles and types, from handmade to machine-made; wool, nylon and polypropelene, and rus tic, traditional and modern patterns. Some of the Orientals are being produced through Shaw’s partnership with Nourison, a recognized leader in the category. On the hard side, the wood line features over two dozen SKUs featuring a variety of species, including exotic, such as bamboo, “one of the most durable woods in the world,” she pointed out. Wood products are offered in three construction types—engineered, glueless engineered and solid. Twenty-nine laminate products are included in the initial offering featuring today’s most popular patterns and textures, from woodgrains to ceramic and stone patterns. They are constructed with Silent-Step Plus, a sound absorbing underlayment that is pre-attached to each plank. In tile and stone, over 100 SKUs, including trims and decorative accents are being launched. Included in the offering is natural travertine, ceramic and porcelain tiles, and slate, terra-cotta and wood styles. Stone products for indoors and out are available, as is 32 grout colors.

Finally, the linoleum line features a single classic style in 12 vibrant colors, along with decorative companion borders. Stewart said she wanted linoleum because “it is a natural product, and every-one is into natural. Plus, it is durable and easy to maintain.” Currently, Shaw is only manufacturing the soft surface products. As its laminate and wood manufacturing facility in Ringgold, Ga., comes online, it will begin producing some of those products for the MSS line as well. The other products are being sourced from around the world.

In addition to the actual products, the MSS Flooring with Shaw collection features an extensive merchandising system to give certified MSS retailers the ability to create a complete in-store Martha Stewart Signature shopping environment for customers. “Dealers who join the program will receive detailed MSS fixture placement guidelines so they can create a setting that allows the experts at MSO and Shaw to ‘speak’ directly to the consumer while presenting the comprehensive floor covering assortment and numerous decorating possibilities,” Patrick explained. The system consists of three primary components: a Color Center where consumers can view the 48 core colors and three core constructions; the Idea Center, which illustrates how MSS flooring choices can be combines with other MSS products, and the Work Center is a place for clients to explore and discuss various decorating options as it houses additional reference materials such as Stewart’s various magazines and books.

The rest of the merchandising system includes satellite fixtures displaying the various flooring categories. Each unit in the system is designed in true Martha Stewart fashion, easy on the eye and inviting to the consumer. “The shopping experience is fun, fast and efficient,” Patrick noted. “And, every flooring selection has a corresponding match on the MSS palette. Finally, it’s easy to coordinate carpet with paint, fabric and furniture and to integrate flooring choices into an overall decorating scheme.” She noted the entire flooring collection and merchandising system is designed to work with Stewart’s unique decorating system of 416 colors and 39 palette cards, which help consumers mix and match flooring and other MSS home furnishings. “So, a wood floor can be sold with an area rug, or lead into carpet. It’s all in the program.”

Shaw and Stewart are targeting approximately 2,000 storefronts in the United States and Canada to launch the flooring line. Dealers who take on the program will not only get the benefit of placing the Martha Stewart name on the stores, they will be backed by an extensive and on-going media campaign through her various television and radio shows, magazines and Internet initiatives. In addition, the multimedia campaign will include a print program beginning in September in lifestyle and shelter magazines. Overall, over 88 million consumer impressions a month are expected, as the Stewart’s four TV shows get over 60 million monthly viewers alone. “Most of our audience not only watch Martha or read Martha,” Patrick noted, “they also want to ‘do what Martha does’ in their own homes. Our merchandise and how-to content allow these dreamers to become doers. And, because we’re omnimedia, we can consistently reach the widest audience possible.”