External Environment

Individual Presentation: Leading Strategically

BUS 690

August 28, 2020

Outline: Martha Stewart’s Empire

I. Martha Stewart is a successful businesswoman, who was known by millions of people for her quaint personality & catering company which specialized in gourmet

meals, serving 1500 people at a time. This eventually turned into a $1 million

business, pre-1999.

a. After meeting with Crown House publishing executive, Alan Mirkin, Stewart published a cookbook named “Entertaining” in 1982, then a magazine in 1991,

which she then took ownership from Time Inc. in 1997.

b. She later founded Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, along with establishing a TV show.

i. She was chairman, president & CEO of the company c. After the 2004 scandal for insider trading, she was found guilty on all counts of

obstruction of justice, conspiracy, & making false statements.

d. She eventually stepped down from CEO & then in 2015, sold corporation for $350 million to Sequential Brands; the corporation was once valued at $2 billion.

Agreed to serve as Chief Creative Officer.

e. In 2019, company was then sold to Marquee Brands for $175 million. II. Effectiveness of strategies include Martha Stewart’s shift from being an Iconic CEO

to a Scoundrel CEO and displaying 3 out of the 5 concepts of entrepreneurial

orientation.

a. Posed as an Iconic CEO (possessing both fame & strong reputation) as a TV talk show host with Snoop Dog, appeared regularly on shows such as Larry King

Tonight & Oprah Winfrey Show.

i. Published cookbook regarding her catering services, internationally. ii. For the purpose of staying connected with the audience/fans, Stewart

utilized Facebook, Instagram & Pinterest to share pictures, recipes,

products & more.

iii. Displays consistent passion of aims and goals through “how-to” concept with household things & cooking.

b. Entrepreneurial orientation concepts of innovativeness, proactiveness, & risk- taking. Respectively:

i. Built a catering business & home-furnishing corporation, expanding into international media.

ii. Regardless of 2004 case, returned to daytime television approx. from 2005-2015, while distancing herself from daily operations.

iii. In 1999, the company decided to go public (MSO) on the stock market with prices soaring at nearly $37 per share, valued at $1.8 billion.

III. Could Martha Stewart’s company have gone farther if she was not an Iconic/Scoundrel CEO but instead, a Hidden Gem CEO (low fame but high

reputations, staying unknown, avoiding analysts & reporters)?

Works Cited

Bauer, Patricia, et al., editors. “Martha Stewart: American Entrepreneur and Television

Personality.” Encyclopedia Britannica , 9 Aug. 2015,

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martha-Stewart.

Cassel , Warren. “How Martha Stewart Built a Media Empire.” Investopedia, 17 July 2020,

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/professionals/071415/how-martha-stewart-built-

media-empire.asp.

Meyer, Rich. “3 Ways Martha Stewart Successfully Built Her Global Brand.” Prism Global

Marketing Solutions, 30 Sept. 2014, https://www.prismglobalmarketing.com/blog/how-

to-successfully-build-a-global-brand.

Taylor, Kate. “Martha Stewart Will Never Stop Reinventing Herself — Here’s How She Went

from a Stockbroker to Hosting a Cooking Show with Snoop Dogg.” Business Insider, 9

Jan. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/martha-stewart-will-never-stop-reinventing-

herself-bio-2018-1.