Hearst Magazines to Partner with Kmart and Sears to Introduce Country Living Collection

The Country Living Collection, a new line of home fashions that includes bedding and bath, tabletop, furniture and home decor, will debut this summer in both Kmart and Sears retail stores across the country. The announcement was made jointly today by Doug Wurl, VP/GMM of Home Fashions at Sears Holdings, and Glen Ellen Brown, vice president, Hearst Brand Development, a unit of Hearst Magazines, which publishes Country Living.

Featuring fresh home decor that redefines "country" and focuses on design, quality and comfort, the Country Living Collection will offer four distinct looks: Modern Countryside, Blue & White, Red & White and Faded Antique. Each will span traditional, classic and modern country sensibilities. Rolling out this August in more than 1,200 Kmart stores and 500 Sears stores nationwide, the product line will be priced accessibly, ranging from $3.99 for candles to $349 for dining furniture.

The number one selling home magazine on newsstands, Country Living reaches more than 11 million consumers per month with approachable lifestyle content on decorating, gardening, entertaining, travel and more.

"Country Living's readers are passionate about their surroundings and how they entertain," said Editor-in-Chief Sarah Gray Miller. "They value attainable luxury, quality, authenticity and comfort - all of which is reflected in our new home collection."

Hearst's Glen Ellen Brown added: "Our partnership with Kmart and Sears will enable millions of consumers to personally experience the Country Living brand and bring its 'come home to comfort' message into their homes with beautiful, yet accessible, decor options."

Since fall 2007, Kmart has re-focused efforts on expanding its soft home offerings to establish itself as a quality, style and value leader in the home fashions marketplace. The Country Living Collection joins a large portfolio of existing soft home products that includes the newly launched Cannon line and the Jaclyn Smith Home Collection. Sears, in turn, will be offering a new design sensibility with the Country Living Collection that complements trusted brands like Lands' End and Cannon, and signature collections like Ty Pennington Style.

"The Country Living Collection at Kmart and Sears features a country style sensibility that is new to our assortment," said Doug Wurl of Sears Holdings. "It strengthens our ability to offer customers beautifully coordinated products which make home decorating incredibly easy and affordable. Country Living is a great American brand that offers a wide interpretation of what 'country' means. Our collaboration represents our continued commitment to our customers' love of good design, high quality and comfort."

ABOUT SEARS HOLDINGS CORPORATION

Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation's fifth largest broadline retailer with approximately 3,900 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has Martha Stewart Everyday products, which are offered exclusively in the U.S. by Kmart. We are the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 12 million service calls made annually. Sears Holdings Corporation operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation. For more information, visit Sears Holdings' website at www.searsholdings.com.

ABOUT COUNTRY LIVING

Launched 30 years ago, Country Living (www.countryliving.com) is the No. 1 selling shelter magazine at newsstands and, through its editorial content and design, encourages readers to "come home to comfort." The magazine focuses on a variety of topics including decorating, antiques, cooking, travel, remodeling and gardens. In addition to its U.S. flagship, Country Living publishes a United Kingdom edition. Country Living is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) and one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, with nearly 200 editions around the world, including 15 U.S. titles and 20 magazines in the United Kingdom, published through its wholly owned subsidiary, National Magazine Company Limited. Hearst reaches more adults than any other publisher of monthly magazines (70.6 million total adults, according to MRI, Fall 2008).

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: Megan.Faulkner@eurorscg.com

SOURCE: Sears Holdings Corporation

CONTACT: Amy Dimond of Sears Holdings, +1-224-735-8983,
adimond@searshc.com, or Beth Pagano of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR,
+1-773-294-5356, beth.pagano@eurorscg.com, both for Kmart/Sears; or Sara
Crabbe of Hearst Magazines, +1-212-649-2581, scrabbe@hearst.com, or Rory
Roth-Honigfeld of Corbin & Associates, Ltd., +1-212-246-0523,
Rory@corbinpr.com, both for Country Living/Hearst Brand Development

Web Site: http://www.hearst.com/
http://www.countryliving.com/
http://www.searsholdings.com/