Macy’s exclusive arrangement with Martha Stewart in litigation

As reported in The Licensing Letter Daily Advisor, the place to be last week was downtown Manhattan where Martha Stewart took the stand in the Macy's/J.C. Penney (JCP) breach of contract lawsuit.

Macy’s thought they had an exclusive license to sell certain categories of Martha Stewart goods and began selling them in 2007. In 2011, Ron Johnson, the CEO picked to turn around the fortunes of faltering JCP, decided that creating stores-within-stores would be a good idea, attracting different brand followers.  Martha Stewart was signed to be one of those stores.

Macy’s cried foul, citing exclusivity, and sued. The trial appeared to hinge on whether a shop-within-a-shop can be defined as a store or not. On Thursday, March 7, 2013, NBC News reported the judge ordered J.C. Penney Co. Inc., Macy's Inc. and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia into mediation in an effort to settle the case.