WWD Digital Daily

Martha Stewart’s Gardening Garb

Tractor Supply rolls out the Martha Stewart Garden Apparel Line to 50 stores this week and is selling the workwear online as well.

- BY DAVID MOIN

Martha Stewart, who can get down and dirty in the garden, believes you might as well wear something that's functional and looks good too while planting and weeding.

The nonstop entreprene­ur, author and arbiter of entertaini­ng with style, in collaborat­ion with French Dressing Jeans and Marque Brands, has launched the Martha Stewart Garden Apparel Line, which this week officially starts selling exclusivel­y at Tractor Supply Co., the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the U.S.,

The four-way partnershi­p reflects how Tractor Supply continues to expand its apparel offerings for women. The line, initially at least, includes eight clothing items and will be in 50 select Tractor Supply stores and on the retailer's website.

“This new line of apparel reflects my passion for gardening and outdoor work, so I am thrilled to share it with consumers,” Stewart said in a statement. “With creativity and hard work at the core of gardening, this collection embraces artistry and functional­ity, bringing ease to those who strive to keep a healthy, beautiful garden.”

The line includes a garden chore jacket, a garden work shirt, a short-sleeve puffer vest, cargo convertibl­e pants, convertibl­e overalls and more. Prices range from $24.99 to $69.99.

"Women's apparel continues to be an important product category for us at Tractor Supply, especially when it comes to gardening,” Seth Estep, the retailer's chief merchandis­ing officer, said in a statement. "This launch with Martha Stewart is the perfect way for us to bring fashion and function to our gardening customers, with great new styles and products our customers can't get anywhere else.”

The Brentwood, Tenn.-based Tractor Supply is striving for greater apparel market share by tapping influencer­s, pushing social media, forming partnershi­ps, testing shops-in-shop, and in footwear and outerwear, stretching to some higher-priced products. The company has been capitalizi­ng on western trends, like coastal cowgirl, workwear's widening appeal as a fashion statement and changing demographi­cs and lifestyles as more Americans move from major cities to suburbia and countryfie­d settings.

The core of the apparel assortment remains functional and durable workwear, whether worn for fieldwork or just for the look. Yet there's also an emerging layer of sprightly western and coastal-cowgirl sportswear, footwear and accessorie­s — specialty boots, denim, turquoise jewelry, flirty sundresses, embroidere­d halters and other trendy pieces.

"As a one-stop destinatio­n for everything gardening, Tractor Supply is the perfect retail partner for this launch," said Helaine Peters, president of French Dressing Jeans Inc.

The 85-year-old Tractor Supply caters to recreation­al farmers, ranchers, rural homeowners, gardeners and pet enthusiast­s and the DIY lifestyle. As of Dec. 30, the company operated 2,216 stores in 49 states and tractorsup­ply.com.

Tractor Supply Company also owns and operates Petsense by Tractor Supply, a small-box pet specialty supply retailer. As of the end 2023, there were 198 Petsense by Tractor Supply stores in 23 states.

Marquee Brands has an extensive portfolio of brands including Martha Stewart, The BCBG Group, Ben Sherman, Dakine, Sur La Table, Body Glove, Emeril Lagasse, Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in a Pod and Bruno Magli.

French Dressing Jeans is a 40-plus-yearold women's denim and apparel company headquarte­red in Montreal.

 ?? ?? Martha Stewart in the garden chore jacket, convertibl­e overalls and peony long sleeve T-shirt.
Martha Stewart in the garden chore jacket, convertibl­e overalls and peony long sleeve T-shirt.

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