Martha Stewart-branded Lighting and Ceiling Fans to Debut at Retail in Spring 2007
NEW YORK, June 20, 2006 -- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) today announced an agreement with Quality Home Brands, LLC, a manufacturer of leading brands of lighting and home décor products, to manufacture a new line of Martha Stewart-branded lighting and ceiling fans. The line will include products marketed by Murray Feiss Lighting, Sea Gull Lighting and the Monte Carlo Fan Company brands. Initial products are expected to be introduced at the High Point International Home Furnishings Market in spring 2007, followed by hardwired lighting products later in the year. Distinguished by the high quality and distinctive design associated with the Martha Stewart brand, the exclusive products will be available through independent lighting and furniture dealers.
Created by the MSLO design team under Martha Stewart's direction, the new line will be offered in a full range of sizes, styles, finishes and price points. It will include indoor and outdoor fixtures, chandeliers, sconces, floor lamps, table lamps, bathroom lighting and ceiling fans. The products are expected to retail for under $100 and up.
The new line augments MSLO's expanding home furnishings program, which includes a recent partnership with Federated Department Stores to develop a new line of Martha Stewart Collection home merchandise exclusively for Macy's; the line is expected to debut in fall 2007. The lighting products will coordinate with MSLO's Martha Stewart Signature furniture line with Bernhardt, which is sold at independent furniture dealers and major department stores nationwide. MSLO is also developing a lighting line to be produced by Sea Gull Lighting that will be available through the KB Home Studio for the Martha Stewart-designed homes developed in partnership with KB Home.
Robin Marino, President of Merchandising for MSLO, said, “Our merchandising business is growing in line with our strategic initiatives. Lighting and ceiling fans are a vital addition to our assortment. The products will enhance our Martha Stewart houses with KB Home as well as our furniture galleries across the country. We are delighted to be working with Quality Home Brands, a company that has a rich experience as a lighting manufacturer.”
“Martha Stewart is a premier taste maker and much-admired arbiter of style in the home. We are very pleased to be working with her and the MSLO design team to bring consumers a full range of beautiful, tastefully designed, and high-quality home lighting and ceiling fan designs,” said Murray Feiss, Chairman of Quality Home Brands and Chief Executive Officer of Murray Feiss Lighting.
Martha Stewart, MSLO's Founder, stated: "No home is complete without beautiful and thoughtful lighting. I have been collecting wonderful floor lamps and table lamps for many years and I hope that I can impart some of my stylistic choices to this exciting new line of Martha Stewart fixtures through the KB Home Studio. I look forward to our partnership and an expansive collection of lighting, lamps and useful and practical ceiling fans.”
“Martha Stewart is widely recognized across America as the genuine authority on home decorating, graceful entertaining, holiday celebrations, and home fashions,” said Sea Gull Lighting's Executive Vice President Susan Solomon Auerbach. “Our research shows that customers respect Martha Stewart's creativity and taste, and they turn to her for products that express a traditional and updated casual style, consistent with the life that many home buyers aspire to live. We're proud to work with MSLO and KB Home on this exciting new program.”
About MSLO
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (MSLO) is a leading provider of original "how-to" information, inspiring and engaging consumers with unique lifestyle content and high-quality products. MSLO is organized into four business segments: Publishing, Broadcasting, Merchandising, and Internet. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSO.
About Quality Home Brands
Quality Home Brands (www.qualityhomebrands.com) is one of America's leading companies serving the lighting, electrical wholesale, home improvement, home décor, and building products industries. The company has an outstanding portfolio of fashionable and functional lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, and decorative products that provide value and growth for its customers and end-users. The company's success is derived from its ability to serve customers with superior service, leading edge design, and outstanding quality. Quality Home Brands is the holding company for Murray Feiss Lighting, Sea Gull Lighting and the Monte Carlo Fan Company, among others.
About Murray Feiss:
Murray Feiss Lighting, (www.Feiss.com) headquartered in Bronx, NY, is a premiere designer and importer of indoor and outdoor residential lighting products. The 51-year old company markets over 4,000 products including grand chandeliers, casual fixtures, outdoor lanterns and lighting, table and floor lamps, torchieres, wall brackets, pendants, flush and semi-flush mounts, mirrors, vanity bath lights with coordinated bath hardware, and decorative accessories. These products are marketed under the Murray Feiss, Bob Mackie, Colonial Williamsburg, Royce Lighting, and Waverly brands and marketed to an exclusive network of lighting showrooms, furniture retailers, and specialty home improvement companies throughout North America.
About Sea Gull Lighting:
Headquartered in Riverside, New Jersey, Sea Gull Lighting Products, LLC (www.SeaGullLighting.com) is a leading manufacturer and marketer of decorative and functional lighting for residential, commercial and architectural applications. The 87-year-old company provides more than 3,500 product designs spanning 15 categories to a multi-national network of electrical wholesale distributors, lighting showrooms, and specialty stores, as well as various niche markets. These products are marketed worldwide under the Sea Gull Lighting®, Ambiance® Lighting Systems®, Monte Carlo Fan Company®, and PGA TOUR® Home Collection brand names. Sea Gull Lighting is also a proud partner of the US Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® Program and was named ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 2004 & 2005.
About the Monte Carlo Fan Company:
The Monte Carlo Fan Company (www.montecarlofans.com) is a designer and manufacturer of distinctive, trend inspired ceiling fans, lighting, and accessories headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Since 1996, Monte Carlo has earned a worldwide reputation for their uncompromising engineering and quality of ceiling fans. The company offers a wide variety of interior and exterior ceiling fan designs with universal appeal that enhance decors from traditional to contemporary styles distributed through premiere lighting stores and retailers nationwide.
SOURCE: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
CONTACT: Media: Elizabeth Estroff, VP, Corporate Communications,
+1-212-827-8281, or Investors: Howard Hochhauser, Acting Chief Financial
Officer, +1-212-827-8530, both of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. /
SOURCE: Quality Home Brands, LLC
CONTACT: Ace Rosenstein, VP, Marketing and Business Development, Sea Gull
Lighting Products, LLC, a Quality Home Brands Company 865-764-0500 x 7444
