Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
An American lifestyle media and merchandising company built around the Martha Stewart brand.
Last updated August 27, 2026
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Overview
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is an American lifestyle media and merchandising company founded by Martha Stewart in 1997 as an umbrella for businesses associated with her publishing, television, product-design, and personal-brand activities. Rather than operating as a conventional single-product manufacturer, the company developed a coordinated brand system spanning magazines, books, syndicated newspaper columns, television and radio programs, websites, direct commerce, and licensed merchandise for the home, kitchen, garden, food, entertaining, weddings, and crafts categories. The company's core publishing asset was Martha Stewart Living magazine, which translated Stewart's approach to cooking, decorating, gardening, organizing, entertaining, and seasonal living into editorial content and commercially usable product concepts. Other publishing properties included Martha Stewart Weddings, Everyday Food, Whole Living, Blueprint: Design Your Life, Martha Stewart Kids, and Martha Stewart Baby, although several titles were later discontinued. The company also distributed columns such as Ask Martha, Living, Weddings, and Everyday Food through The New York Times Syndicate. Books were published through outside publishing partners, including Clarkson Potter, rather than solely through an internally owned book-publishing operation. MSLO expanded its reach through television programming, including Martha, Martha Stewart Living, Everyday Food, and From Martha's Kitchen. It also developed instructional DVDs and operated Martha Stewart Living Radio on SiriusXM for a period. Its Internet and direct-commerce activities included MarthaStewart.com, online content, a flower business, greeting-card initiatives, the Martha's Circle blog-advertising network, and the earlier Martha by Mail catalog. The catalog was discontinued after the company closed its online store in 2004. Merchandising became an important extension of the editorial brand. Products were sold through retail partnerships and licensing arrangements under names such as Martha Stewart Everyday, Martha Stewart Signature, Martha Stewart Crafts, Martha Stewart Colors, and the Martha Stewart Collection at Macy's. Categories included housewares, furniture, paint, crafts, kitchen products, organization, outdoor furniture, home decor, food, wine, and cabinets. The company also entered food and beverage licensing, including a wine partnership with E. & J. Gallo Winery and food products developed from its recipe library. The company went public on the New York Stock Exchange in October 1999. Martha Stewart's position as the company's central public figure was affected by the ImClone insider-trading controversy. She resigned from executive roles in 2001 and was subject to restrictions connected with her criminal case and a Securities and Exchange Commission settlement, although she later returned to the board and became chairwoman again in 2012. The company also faced shareholder litigation, accounting-related restatements, and a significant contractual dispute involving Macy's and the J.C. Penney retail venture. MSLO's public-company period ended after Sequential Brands Group agreed to acquire it in 2015; the shares were suspended and delisted following the transaction. Sequential later sold MSLO, including the Emeril brand acquired by MSLO in 2008, to Marquee Brands in 2019 for a reported $175 million plus potential additional payments. Under Marquee Brands, the business is primarily a brand-licensing and intellectual-property platform rather than the broad publicly traded media company of its earlier period. The Martha Stewart brand continues to be used across content, food, home, kitchen, craft, and lifestyle products through partners and retail channels.
History
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia was established in 1997 by Martha Stewart to consolidate and extend the businesses associated with her lifestyle expertise and public identity. Its model joined editorial production with consumer products: magazines and books supplied ideas and instruction, television and radio broadened audience reach, and licensing and retail partnerships turned the same themes into merchandise. The company's principal editorial property was Martha Stewart Living. It developed additional magazines and special issues covering weddings, food, design, children, and wellness. The company also syndicated newspaper columns and worked with external publishing partners on books. Digital operations included MarthaStewart.com, direct commerce, online editorial services, and experimental initiatives such as Martha's Circle, a network connecting lifestyle blogs with advertisers. An earlier catalog business, Martha by Mail, was discontinued after the company closed its online store in 2004. Broadcasting was another major activity. MSLO produced or distributed Martha Stewart Living, Martha, Everyday Food, and From Martha's Kitchen, and it marketed instructional DVDs through a Warner Bros. partnership. It operated Martha Stewart Living Radio on SiriusXM, including programming hosted by Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman-Hutt. The company also participated in the broader television ecosystem surrounding the Martha Stewart brand, even when it did not own a technical stake in a program. MSLO became a public company through a New York Stock Exchange initial public offering in October 1999. The company's fortunes were closely linked to its founder. Stewart resigned as an officer after the ImClone insider-trading case and was restricted from serving in certain public-company financial roles until 2011 under regulatory and legal arrangements. She returned to the board in September 2011 and became chairwoman again in May 2012. The company pursued an extensive licensing strategy. Martha Stewart Everyday products were distributed through Kmart and Sears Canada, while Martha Stewart Signature products included furniture and paint. Partnerships shifted over time: paint moved from Sherwin-Williams to Lowe's, crafts were developed with EK Success for Michael's stores, and a broader home-products relationship was announced with Home Depot. In 2007, Macy's launched the Martha Stewart Collection. MSLO also developed wine with E. & J. Gallo Winery and food products connected to its recipe archive. The expansion created legal and operational complications. Investors filed a class-action case in 2002 alleging misleading statements and insider trading by company officers; a settlement was approved in 2007. The company also changed its interim accounting treatment for subscription-acquisition costs in 2004 and restated financial statements. Macy's later challenged the J.C. Penney retail arrangement, arguing that it conflicted with Macy's rights. The dispute was consolidated in 2013, and MSLO settled part of its case with Macy's without publicly disclosing the terms. MSLO acquired selected Emeril Lagasse assets in 2008, including television, cookbook, website, food, and kitchen-product rights, while excluding the restaurant chain and foundation. The business later reduced its publishing portfolio and ceased printing several titles. In 2015, Sequential Brands Group acquired MSLO, ending its NYSE-listed era. Sequential sold MSLO to Marquee Brands in 2019. The transaction included the Emeril brand and was valued at $175 million plus possible additional payments. The later structure emphasizes ownership, licensing, and management of the Martha Stewart intellectual property across lifestyle categories.
- 2019
Acquired by Marquee Brands
[1]Marquee Brands acquired MSLO and the associated Emeril brand from Sequential Brands Group.
- 2015
Acquired by Sequential Brands Group
[1]Sequential Brands Group acquired MSLO, after which the company left the public market.
- 2011
J.C. Penney investment announced
[1]J.C. Penney announced an agreement to acquire a minority stake and develop Martha Stewart shops in its stores.
- 2008
Selected Emeril assets acquired
[1]MSLO acquired selected Emeril Lagasse media, publishing, website, and product assets.
- 2004
Catalog business closed
[1]The company's online catalog store closed and its print catalog operations ended around the same period.
- 1999
Initial public offering
[1]MSLO completed an initial public offering and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 1997
Company founded
[1]Martha Stewart founded MSLO as an umbrella organization for her media and merchandising ventures.
Products and positioning
A broadly accessible lifestyle brand centered on homekeeping, cooking, entertaining, crafts, gardening, organization, weddings, and seasonal living, distributed through editorial content and licensed consumer products.
Magazine
Martha Stewart Living
The flagship lifestyle magazine translated Martha Stewart's editorial approach into features on cooking, decorating, gardening, organizing, entertaining, crafts, and seasonal projects. It served as the central content platform around which many of the company's television programs, books, websites, and licensed products were organized. The final print issue was published in May 2022.
Magazine and content
Martha Stewart Weddings
A wedding-focused publishing property covering planning, ceremonies, reception design, flowers, food, stationery, and related celebrations. It extended the Martha Stewart editorial system into a specialized event-planning category.
Home and kitchen merchandise · 2007
Martha Stewart Collection
A Macy's retail collection developed as an upscale Martha Stewart merchandise line. Its broader product universe included home furnishings, kitchen items, textiles, decor, and entertaining-related goods sold through a major department-store channel.
Mass-market home goods
Martha Stewart Everyday
A mass-market merchandise brand used for home and lifestyle products distributed through retailers including Kmart in the United States and Sears Canada. It represented the accessible end of the company's retail positioning.
Craft supplies · 2007
Martha Stewart Crafts
A paper-based and craft-products line developed with EK Success and distributed initially through Michael's stores. The range connected the company's project-oriented editorial content with tools and materials for scrapbook, paper, and decorative craft activities.
Paint · 2007
Martha Stewart Colors
An interior paint line developed through a Lowe's partnership. It replaced an earlier Sherwin-Williams relationship and applied Martha Stewart's color and decorating positioning to a home-improvement retail category.
Meal kits · 2016
Martha & Marley Spoon
A meal-kit service created through a partnership between MSLO and Marley Spoon. In 2017, selected metropolitan-area customers could receive the service through Amazon Fresh, linking Martha Stewart recipes and food-planning content with subscription meal delivery.
Satellite radio
Martha Stewart Living Radio
A SiriusXM channel featuring lifestyle programming associated with the Martha Stewart brand. Its schedule included a talk program hosted by Martha Stewart's daughter Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman-Hutt before the program was canceled in 2011.
Controversies
2002
Investor class-action litigation
A class-action complaint alleged misleading company statements and insider trading by officers. A settlement was approved in 2007.
2001
ImClone insider-trading controversy
Martha Stewart's trading in ImClone-related securities led to criminal proceedings and regulatory consequences. She resigned from executive positions at MSLO and was restricted from certain public-company financial roles for a period.
Marketing campaigns
- 2017Martha & Marley Spoon Amazon Fresh rollout
Dallas · Boston · New York · Philadelphia · San Francisco · Washington, D.C.
The company promoted access to its Marley Spoon meal-kit partnership through Amazon Fresh in selected metropolitan markets.
Outcome. The rollout expanded the meal-kit service beyond its direct distribution channel.
- 2006Martha's Circle
United States
MSLO launched Martha's Circle as a lifestyle blog-advertising network, bringing together independent blogs and advertisers around the company's editorial interests.
Outcome. The initiative became part of MSLO's historical digital and advertising activities.
Brand decisions
2019
Sale to Marquee BrandsM&ABackground
Sequential Brands Group sold the Martha Stewart-related brand assets as part of its portfolio strategy.
Action taken
Marquee Brands agreed to acquire MSLO, including Emeril, and associated intellectual property.
Aftermath
MSLO became part of Marquee Brands' privately held brand portfolio.
Purchase consideration. 175000000 USD plus benchmarked additional payments (April 2019 announced transaction)
2015
Sale to Sequential Brands GroupM&ABackground
MSLO moved away from its public-company structure and toward a brand-ownership model.
Action taken
Sequential Brands Group acquired the company, and MSLO requested suspension and delisting of its NYSE-listed common stock.
Aftermath
The transaction ended MSLO's period as a separately traded public company.
2013
Publishing portfolio reductionStrategyBackground
MSLO reviewed its magazine portfolio and publishing economics.
Action taken
It stopped printing Everyday Food and Whole Living and reduced Martha Stewart Living from a monthly schedule to eleven issues per year.
Aftermath
The company concentrated more heavily on its remaining flagship content and licensing activities.
2008
Acquisition of selected Emeril Lagasse assetsM&ABackground
MSLO sought to broaden its food and kitchen-related media and product portfolio.
Action taken
It agreed to acquire selected Emeril television programs, cookbook rights, website assets, and food and kitchen-product rights, excluding the restaurant chain and foundation.
Aftermath
The Emeril brand later formed part of the asset package sold to Marquee Brands.
Purchase consideration. 50000000 USD (2008 announced transaction)
2004
Change in subscription-acquisition cost recognitionOtherBackground
After review with its independent accounting firm and audit committee, MSLO reconsidered how subscription-acquisition costs were recognized during interim periods.
Action taken
The company recognized the costs in the periods when the acquisition efforts occurred and restated relevant financial statements.
Aftermath
The change altered the timing of expense recognition in the company's reported accounts.
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