Stein Mart - #22
Founded in 1908 by Sam Stein, the first Stein Mart store was opened in Greenville, Mississippi. Sam's death in 1932 led to his son, Jake Stein, assuming the leadership position and converted the core offerings from general merchandise to discounted clothing.
"Under Jay Stein's leadership, Stein Mart grew from three stores in 1977 to 40 stores in 1990, and then to 123 stores by the end of 1996. In determining the prime locations for new Stein Mart stores, management targeted cities with populations of 125,000 or more and relied on demographic research regarding income, education, and occupation to help predict whether a community might support a discounter of designer merchandise." [Wikipedia]
By 2013, Stein Mart operated in 29 states with a total of around 260 stores.
Financial struggles and the impact of changing consumer shopping trends surfaced in 2017 and by early 2018 Stein Mart announced that it would explore strategic alternatives to keep the company afloat.
In early 2020, Stein Mart announced its intention to take the company private, but on April 16, 2020 the buyout was called off by mutual agreement. The unpredictable economic conditions caused by the COVID pandemic that ensued ata bout the same time left Stein Mart with no options and the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, 2020, shuttering all 279 stores. Stein Mart also announces that its assets were available for sale and in late 2020, Retail Ecommerce Ventures acquired its assets for $6.02 million.
"In March 2023, Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV) announced that it would be exploring options in effort to save themselves, including a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, which would mark Stein Mart's second bankruptcy in 3 years." [Wikipedia]
A group of investors that backed REV, Omni Retail Enterprises, purchased the REV brand portfolio that now includes Bodybuilding.com, Pier 1.com, DressBarn.com, Mentorbox.com, and owns the intellectual property of Modellโs Sporting Goods, Franklin Mint, SteinMart, Linens-N-Things, and Ralph & Russo in mid-2024.
Steinmart.com has been in operation since 2020 (thanks to REV) and continues to operate today.
