High Point, NC, Nov. 5--Alex Bernhardt was understandably nervous a year ago, when he escorted embattled fashion diva Martha Stewart to the unveiling of her first Signature furniture collection.
But after a year of strong sales for Stewart's initial Lily Pond and Skylands lines, the chairman and chief executive of Bernhardt Furniture Co. was much more relaxed when he welcomed Stewart back last month for the introduction of her new Turkey Hill line.
"This was the best decision I've ever made in my career," Bernhardt said, his eyes twinkling, during a packed media preview on the eve of the industry's largest trade show, the International Home Furnishings Market.
The mood in the Bernhardt showroom was far more relaxed than in October 2002, when Stewart kept a distance from reporters who covered the unveiling of her first collections.
The contracts for those collections had been signed months earlier--just before Stewart's public image was tarnished by allegations of securities fraud. She wasn't indicted until last summer, well after the launch.
Bernhardt decided to go ahead with the collections--and said he's had no regrets.
"It's the biggest collection we've ever had in 114 years and sales keep escalating," Bernhardt said as Stewart mingled with guests and shared anecdotes about some of her favorite items in the new collection.
Though Stewart recently broke her silence on her legal troubles, she focused her remarks in High Point on her third collection for Lenoir, NC based Bernhardt Furniture.
Like its two predecessors, the new 125-piece line derives its name from one of Stewart's homes--the 1805 Connecticut farmhouse where she has lived for 30 years.
"Some people like to collect paintings or dogs," Stewart told about 100 people who attended the preview. "I collect houses. It's also because I can't sell any of them, because it's just too painful."
Last month, in its quarterly earnings report, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. called the new Turkey Hill furniture collection one of its bright spots as the company continues to struggle with the insider trading scandal that has dogged Stewart for 17 months.
Furniture industry analyst Jerry Epperson said consumers are willing to distinguish Stewart's legal problems from her talents as a designer and decorator.
"I don't think any of it means much to them," Epperson said. "They're more interested in her taste. They want her to educate them how to decorate their homes."
Epperson, who follows the furniture industry for Mann, Armistead and Epperson in Richmond, VA, said his early reports indicate the latest Martha Stewart collection is selling well.
Research analyst Dennis McAlpine of McAlpine Associates agreed that Stewart's entry into furniture has been a winner, along with her other merchandising programs. But the magazine and the television show are suffering, because advertisers have abandoned them, he said.
"The consumers are still buying the merchandise," McAlpine said. "They don't care whether she goes to jail."
Stewart was indicted last summer after accusations that she sold ImClone Systems Inc. stock in 2001 following an inside tip. She's scheduled for trial early next year.
All of that seemed far away Oct. 15 as Stewart showed off some of her latest inspirations, which include pieces for the home office, bedroom and dining room along with upholstery settings.
Some of the new pieces include a nickel-plated bed and a desk inspired by an 1870s French antique in the original Turkey Hill. The collection also features a $1,200 sofa and chests that sell from $1,000 and up.
The collections are sold in more than 250 galleries across the country.
