- Lucia Moses

NEW YORK Martha Stewart is unleashing a line of pet-care products in PetSmart stores, becoming the latest celebrity to try to cash in on growth in the pet industry.
 
The line is being developed with Age Group. It will include apparel, collars, leashes, bedding and toys and will go on sale starting in the second quarter of 2010.
 
The intersection between pet lovers and celebrities is already well under way. Dog behavior expert Cesar Millan, star of the National Geographic Channel’s The Dog Whisperer, has his own line of products at Petco. He’s just launched a glossy magazine, Cesar’s Way, that’s set to come out six times in 2010.
 
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia began more aggressively courting pet owners this year, having already launched a pet channel on its Web site and added related content to its TV and radio show and magazines.
 
Its newest deal could provide a boost to MSLO’s merchandising revenue, which dipped to $9 million in the second quarter of 2009 from $16.2 million in the year-ago quarter.
 
The decline reflected the wind down of a partnership with Kmart and unfavorable comparisons with the year-ago quarter, which benefited from an Emeril Lagasse endorsement deal and the kickoff of a program to sell Martha Stewart crafts in Walmart stores, per the company.

See also: "Martha Stewart Cooks Up Tweets, Looks Ahead"



Nielsen Business Media