Susan Lyne Steps Down; Where Does Martha Stewart Living Go from Here?

Susan Lyne is stepping down from Martha Stewart Living, but she will remain at the company in an advisory role as a consultant -- at least until they can find someone to fill her shoes. In the interim, Wenda Harris Millard and Robin Marino will serve as co-executives, as they are the currently the president of media and the president of merchandising, respectively. Why is she doing it? The reasons are as of yet unknown, though back in January, she emphasized what was then just an idea that this may happen was most certainly not the case.

Have things changed at the company since then? There was a lot of speculation that she could be invaluable to Time Inc. as a possible replacement for Ann Moore whose contract expires in 2010. Susan Lyne helped to rebuild the brand during Martha's legal troubles; perhaps it is time for her to take her career in a different direction or to help revive another brand at this point in her life.

To the consumer, the real strength of the Martha Stewart brand isn't Susan Lyne but the great designs and the way in which Martha created a lifestyle brand and brought some life back into K Mart again. I don't even know if Susan Lyne shops at K Mart, but the K Mart in my neighborhood is a permanent fixture. Martha Stewart was blessed to have someone as talented as Susan Lyne at the helm though, and K Mart now has a great brand they can be proud of.

Personally, I think the marriage of K Mart and Martha Stewart Living has benefited both corporations as the Martha Stewart Living brand offers high quality goods that are quite fashionable and look well in any home. It's also great that consumers are able to get such great stuff at prices that are competitive with more expensive brands in department stores.

The Martha Stewart Living brand is a welcome alternative to the linens offered at competitors such as WalMart and Target. The former has great prices but stuff that lacks any special type of appeal outside of the homogeneous utilitarian nature of the dry goods, and the latter can be expensive for some budgets, particularly now with the high price of gas.