Macy's trial over Martha Stewart deal

As reported by Bloomberg:

"Macy’s Inc.’s bid to prevent Martha Stewart Living (MSO) Omnimedia Inc. from executing a sales agreement with J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) is set to go to trial Feb. 19.The case won’t be tried before a jury and there will be no need to decide damages, Judge Jeffrey K. Oing said today in New York state court in Manhattan.

Any potential damages in the dispute “are going to pale in comparison to the injunction,” Oing said during a hearing. “That’s the real big bucks there -- if I stop this deal.”

Macy’s, the second-biggest U.S. department-store chain, claims it has an exclusive right to sell Martha Stewart Living products in certain categories. The Cincinnati-based retailer sued both J.C. Penney and Martha Stewart Living seeking to halt their sales agreement, announced in December 2011.

In one of the suits, Macy’s said Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney, the No. 4 U.S. department-store chain, caused it to “incur substantial damages and threatens to inflict incalculable further harm” and that the Martha Stewart accord is “transparently designed to eliminate the competitive advantage that Macy’s enjoys in the area of home products.”" more...

Martha Stewart Living C.E.O. to Resign

"Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, a household name for cooks and craft lovers, announced on Wednesday that its chief executive, Lisa Gersh, a founder of Oxygen Media who joined the company last year, would resign.Ms. Gersh will remain in her role until a new chief is found, which is expected to be some time in the first quarter.

The announcement comes after years of financial difficulty for the company, which has been struggling to find earnings in the hard-pressed publishing industry.

In November, Ms. Gersh, who was brought in to help the company become profitable for one of the few times in the last decade, announced that she planned to cut back two of its four magazines and lay off about 70 employees, or 12 percent of the nearly 600-person company." more...