The Detroit News reports that because it has closed so many stores that it may not be able to sell the minimum amount of product required under their contract, Kmart may have to pay Martha Stewart $47.5 million at the end of this year.
A minimum royalty is called for by the Kmart-Stewart contract. Current estimates are that Kmart can't possibly meet its numbers because of having closed 600-plus stores.
The paper says that Stewart's company has already said that it will seek "alternative domestic distribution" for Stewart's product lines if it ends up that Kmart is 'unable to successfully operate outside of Chapter 11."
A minimum royalty is called for by the Kmart-Stewart contract. Current estimates are that Kmart can't possibly meet its numbers because of having closed 600-plus stores.
The paper says that Stewart's company has already said that it will seek "alternative domestic distribution" for Stewart's product lines if it ends up that Kmart is 'unable to successfully operate outside of Chapter 11."
- KC's View:
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Maybe they should just save a step and make out the check to the Martha Stewart legal defense team, which is endeavoring to keep the self-styled style doyenne out of jail.
There have been reports that Stewart's lawyers have been conducting negotiations with the US Department of Justice about resolving the dispute. At the same time, The Washington Post reported over the weekend that despite the company's best efforts to create some distance, the fate of Martha Stewart Omnimedia seems to be "inextricably tied" to Martha Stewart's legal position.
And at the moment, that position seems best described as twisting in the wind.
