Martha Stewart Unblemished in Japan

By Stephen M. Silverman

07/08/2002 at 01:00 AM EDT

The ImClone scandal be damned, Martha Stewart's image is as untarnished as ever in Japan, where housewives are quickly -- and profitably, for Stewart, 60 -- embracing the domestic diva's line of products and lifestyle goods reports the Associated Press. Part of the reason for the success, notes the news service, is that although Stewart is not a familiar name in Japan, the country does have a long tradition of what are considered traditional middle-class womanly virtues, with homemaking at the top of the list. On top of which, Stewart items are considered relative bargains in the notoriously pricey country, with towels going for the equivalent of $3.20 and glasses for $5.70. Since being launched last fall at supermarkets managed by the major Japanese retailer Seiyu, as well as at a special boutique devoted exclusively to Martha Stewart products in downtown Tokyo, goods carrying the Stewart name raked in $30 million in sales in just the first six months, reports the AP. (In the United States, the Martha Stewart product line is sold exclusively through Kmart.) Seiyu is anticipating $133 million in sales this fiscal year and is planning to open another Stewart boutique in Tokyo this fall. Meanwhile, reports Monday's New York Times, the Congressional committee looking into the possibly improper sale of Stewart's ImClone stocks a day before their price dropped is expected to subpoena the personal cellphone records of Stewart's stockbroker, Peter E. Bacanovic, this week to determine exactly when he advised her to dump her shares.