The Power of Retail

With the slow economy, everyone is looking for a way to be stylish without spending too much money, and Steve & Barry’s might just be the answer. The store is the only place where you can find Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten line of clothing and is getting noticed after being featured on the Oprah show and in Glamour magazine. With 264 stores at present, this 23 year old retail chain does not spend any money on advertising and selects locations where rents are low, mostly under performing malls.

According to Howard Schacter, chief partnership officer for Steve & Barry’s, the company competes directly with Wal-Mart and several other discounters. It keeps its expenses low on everything besides the clothes as well, so there are no lavish offices and business trips are done using low budget fares. Says Schacter, “We look at 1,000 points along the production line and cut out the fat. We also are producing at a very, very high volume. But notice I did not talk about cutting back when it comes to the fabric or the cut. It’s about all the other aspects of the business.”