Patient contrarians get it. Eventually. They really wouldn't have it any other way, though. Valuation may be today's popularity contest but successful investing is all about tomorrow's fete. That's why you'll never see me laughing at the grade school genius with the wiry, unkempt hair or the introvert mastering Klingon in the basement. They may go promless but their stock will rise sooner or later.
That's why I was encouraged to see financial newsletter guru Mark Hulbert's "Do you have what it takes?" article on MarketWatch.com (Nasdaq: MKTW) yesterday. It singled out our Motley Fool Stock Advisor as the only one of the 170 market newsletters that he is currently tracking to have a recommendation out on shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO).
It would be easy to ridicule the loner, but Hulbert takes the refreshingly contrarian approach of singling out the merits of bottom-fishing. Yes, it helps that the stock is actually trading higher since its Stock Advisor recommendation. But, you know, sometimes it's pretty cool to see that someone else out there speaks Klingon.
I mean, why is everyone so down on the company that bears Martha's name?
If Martha's largest retail contract was with, say, Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM), maybe I would be worried -- though even then it would be only in the near term. But Martha's deal with Kmart (Nasdaq: KMRT) places Omnimedia's wares in a mainstream discount department store where sales of Martha Stewart Everyday products have actually risen over the past year. And that's saying something because more than $1.5 billion worth of Stewart-licensed merchandise was sold last year. Can you say thug appeal?
OK, maybe I'm kidding about the "thug appeal" part, but seriously now, what did Omnimedia lose here? I can't picture some well-to-do soccer mom in the suburbs trashing her Stewart-inspired drapes and curtains makeover, calling it a sham just because Stewart sold some ImClone Systems (Nasdaq: IMCL) stock.
Will Omnimedia miss out on a few cable television deals or merchandising contracts? Sure, initially. In the words of the lanky yet lyrically brilliant Ric Ocasek, "There is no escape without a scrape." But these tribulations are also setting up the perfect volley for the brand-enshrining spike that comes from a charismatic leader that has assured her status as a media magnet for life.
And that's a good thing.
How handy are you around the house? Do you have a knack for decorating your home, or do you find yourself staring at Trading Spaces with your jaw to the floor? Has Martha Stewart ever taught you something noteworthy? All this and more -- in the Crafty Fools discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz isn't even sure what the color puce is. He believes Martha will make it through all this yet he does not own shares in any company mentioned in this story.
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