Steve & Barry’s: Finally Dead
I stopped paying close attention to Steve & Barry’s once the single-channel seller of cheap chic apparel and accessories closed its Trumbull (CT) store. Apparently I wasn’t the only consumer who figured they already had both Starbury’s in the grave.
Rescued from Chapter 11 by a pair of investment firms in August, Steve & Barry’s has again filed for bankruptcy. They quietly did it Nov. 21, and haven’t even announced it on its Web site. This came some nine weeks after BH S&B Holdings announced plans to begin bringing life back to the company.
Sign of the times? Or sign that Steve & Barry’s was worse off that anyone ever thought it was?
Harold Kahn came on board in mid-October to run Steve & Barry’s, and was gone just a few weeks later.
I’m down in Orlando for NCDM and popped into the Festival Bay Steve & Barry’s location. I got a t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts for less than $6. I grabbed lunch and went back for more, but there was suddenly a long line of bargain shoppers cluttering up the place. Maybe I’ll head back before I leave town on Thursday.
Why do I think they failed? Maybe I didn’t buy enough Starbury sneakers (and I think I own seven pair, including one I’ve yet to take out of the box). But truth be told, the merchant was simply out of touch with its customer base… and didn’t really know anything about its customers.
Check these articles out for my two cents on Steve & Barry’s:
