Macy's CEO Describes The Moment His Friend Martha Stewart Betrayed Him
“We wanted exclusivity in those categories that we were working with them to create,” Lundgren testified in court, according to Bloomberg. "From the beginning, that was clear."
JCPenney announced a partnership with Stewart in January 2012. Macy's quickly announced it planned to take legal action and argued that Stewart had agreed to be exclusive with the retailer.
Stewart and JCPenney are arguing that the retailer's shop-in-shop format makes the stores more Stewart's brand than a Macy's competitor.
But the worst part, according to Lundgren?
He and Stewart were friends before this all happened.
Here's a Women's Wear Daily tweet where he describes his former relationship:
CNBC's Courtney Reagan reports he said "I thought Martha and I were friends, she was friends with my wife."
In the moment she called to say she signed a housewares deal with competitor JCPenney, Lundgren was furious, according to WWD:
But now it's over.
"I haven't responded to her since that phone call and I don't intend to," said Lundgren. "I don't have a personal relationship with Martha Stewart."
Lundgren also said that Stewart was associated with poor-quality goods sold at Kmart and that he took a chance on her.
He testified that Stewart “wanted to have products that her friends would buy” and was “embarrassed” by the quality of the goods sold at Kmart, Bloomberg reported.