Published: August 22, 2008 11:46 pm      

Steve & Barry's might remain in business

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — If approved by the court, Steve & Barry’s stores will continue to do business at 276 stores nationwide.

Officials from Steve & Barry’s LLC announced BHY S&B Holdings, a newly formed affiliate of investment firms Bay Harbour management and York Capital Management, have agreed to a $168 million purchase agreement.

Among the investors in BHY S&B Holdings are store co-founders Steve Shore and Barry Prevor.

In addition to purchasing merchandise inventories and transfer rights to store leases, BHY S&B Holdings will also acquire all Steve & Barry’s intellectual rights, including celebrity and brand licenses.

The holding company will also assume ownership of the company’s headquarters in Port Washington, New York and the Columbus, Ohio, distribution center, as well as certain overseas offices.

A spokesman for Steve & Barry’s said BHY S&B Holdings has made no decisions about which stores will be closed, or when, although an announcement is expected next week.

“Steve & Barry’s offers a unique, high-value shopping destination to the American consumer — a store where one can buy the exciting BITTEN collection by Sarah Jessica Parker, EleVen brand cross-trainers designed by Venus Williams that she wore while winning both Wimbledon and an Olympic Gold Medal this summer, and so many other tremendous brands,” said Douglas Teitelbaum, managing principal of Bay Harbour Management.

“There’s a fundamentally strong business model at Steve & Barry’s that just needs some fine-tuning to get it back on a growth track in order to reach its full potential,” he said.

“We’d like to thank the company’s creditors, landlords, licensing partners and especially Steve & Barry’s employees for supporting the sale process to this point.”

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.