CEO of Martha Stewart Resigns After Just Six Months into the Job

By Rapti Gupta | Dec 20, 2012 07:48 AM EST

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Lisa Gersh, CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has reportedly resigned from her post. The resignation comes just after six months of her tenure as CEO in the company. However, her successor has not been named yet.

The company is still in search of a chief executive, reported Wall Street journal. Martha Stewart is not known for employee retention. Gersh's resignation comes after a fallout with the chairman and founder, Martha Stewart, reported WSJ.

Gersh has strong roots in the media industry. She served as chief operating executive for the firm since July 2011.  Recently, she had reshuffled the management of Martha Stewart's publishing division, which proved to be disastrous, reported WSJ.

Martha Stewart decided to shut the magazine - Whole Living- a health and diet magazine, after it failed to capture prospective readers in the market, reported Wall Street journal.

The media company has had 5 CEOs and numerous chief financial officers since 1999. Sales figures have not been very impressive for Martha Stewart. The figures have been continuously declining since the last four years. The firm also laid off 600 employees a few weeks ago as a cost cutting measure, reported Business Insider.

Martha Stewart is focusing more on merchandise selling through retail stores. The company had struck a deal to open up its mini shops at J.C. Penny stores but the deal fell through, reported USA Today.

"We are now increasing our capabilities in merchandising and plan to take full advantage of that opportunity for the benefit of our shareholders," Stewart told Business Insider.

Martha Stewart has also extended partnerships with retail giants like Home Depot, KB Home and PetSmart, reported WSJ.

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