Forget F. Scott Fitzgerald. There are second acts in American lives.
“I can't think of a better, bigger comeback story than what's happening at Martha Stewart Omnimedia,” Cramer said Wednesday just before he interviewed Ms. Stewart on set.
Everybody knows about the ImClone stock-trading scandal and Martha’s five months in a West Virginia federal prison. (She calls it here time “at Yale.”) If there were any doubts about whether or not the diva of all homemakers would make a comeback, they’ve probably been erased by now.
As Cramer has said before, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has great management in Chairman Charles Koppelman and new co-CEOs Robin Marino and Wenda Harris Millard. The merchandising business is strong and making up for any decline in MSO’s magazine ad revenue. And Martha’s legacy is at risk here. Cramer’s convinced she’s putting everything she has into making company more than a near $9 stock.
“I was always hungry to build the best company,” Martha said.
There’s a chance she could pull it off. There are 129 million homes in the U.S., she said, and 69% of them are owned. Every home needs refurbishment, decoration and other things “to make it that cuddly place that we all want our home to be.”
The overseas business is starting to show some growth as well. Her TV show Martha can be seen in 70 countries right now and her products are selling well there.
“This stock isn’t done going up,” Cramer said. “Not by a longshot.”
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