Stage Stores

Stage Stores, Inc.

Stage Stores, Inc. Corporate Office
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: SSI
Industry	Retail
Founded	1988
Headquarters	Houston, Texas
Key people	William J. Montgoris (Non-Executive Chairman) Michael L. Glazer (President & CEO)
Products	Apparel, Accessories, Cosmetics, Footwear, and Housewares
Website	www.stagestores.com www.stagestoresinc.com

Stage Stores, Inc. is a department store company specializing in retailing desirable brand name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear and housewares to small towns and communities throughout the United States. The corporate office is located in Houston, Texas.^[1]

Stage Stores operates more than 855 stores in 40 states under the Bealls (no relation to the Bealls chain in Florida), Palais Royal, Peebles, Stage, and Goody's nameplates.

The company operates stores mainly in small and mid-size towns and communities, primarily in Midwestern, Southeastern, and Mid-Atlantic states with a growing presence in the New England states.Stores are located in shopping malls and centers or in standalone areas.

In 2011, Stage Stores began a new chain called Steele's,^[2] but in March 2014 it was announced that these stores are being sold to Hilco Global.^[3]

Through the company’s “Community Counts” program, Stage Stores, Inc. gives back to the towns it serves and is actively involved in charitable causes, sponsorships and associate volunteerism efforts. In March 2014, the company rolled out its “30 Days of Giving” initiative at all stores. The initiative resulted in nearly $1 million donated to over 700 local organizations.

The company unveiled its eCommerce website in 2010, www.stagestores.com where consumers can purchase apparel, accessories, cosmetics, footwear and housewares.

Brands exclusively found at Stage Stores, Inc. family of department stores include Valerie Stevens, Signature Studio, Sun River, Rustic Blue, Rebecca Malone and Wishful Park.

Stage Stores, Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE as SSI since 2002.

History

Through a series of acquisitions the company has grown to more than 850 stores.

In June 1992, Stage Stores, then known as Specialty Retailers, Inc. (SRI)-- acquired Colorado-based Fashion Bar, Inc., a family-owned business having 71 stores, most of which were comparable to Palais Royal and Bealls stores. The remainder were small specialty stores known as Stage Stores, which already had become part of SRI's operation.

In 1996, SRI completed the closure of the other Fashion Bar Stores but kept the Stage name. The company purchased the forty-nine stores of Beall-Ladymon, Inc., sold by the company president, Horace Ladymon. The outlets were located in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi; they were reopened in 1994 under the "Stage" name.^[4]

Stage expanded into the Northwest with the acquisition in 1997 of C. R. Anthony Co. and Tri-North stores.

The company acquired Uhlmans in 1997 which brought Stage to Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. All of these newly acquired stores, however, were closed by 1999 when Stage Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Closures as part of the bankruptcy included most of the former Fashion Bar, Milliken's, Tri-North, and Uhlman's stores, as well as an exodus from Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.

Stores with the Stage nameplate still operate in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. Before the bankruptcy, Stage stores also operated in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

In 2003, Stage Stores acquired 136 Peebles stores located in 17 states.

The company purchased the Goody’s name through the Goody’s bankruptcy auction in 2009. The nameplate was used in markets with a strong customer awareness and brand recognition of the name. ^[5]

Acquisitions

Stage Stores, Inc. has acquired many stores over the years, including the following:

• Fashion Bar (Colorado, Wyoming). Acquired in 1992, all stores converted to Stage.

• Beall-Ladymon (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi Kansas). Acquired in 1994, all stores converted to Stage.

• Uhlman's (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio). Acquired in 1996. In addition to the Uhlman's name, Uhlman's operated Milliken's stores in Michigan. All were renamed Stage, except for a locations in Traverse City, Michigan, Cadillac, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan which operated as Stage-Milliken until 2001.^[6]

• C. R. Anthony Co. (Montana, Idaho, Oregon, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Wyoming) Acquired 1997, most stores converted to Stage, while some Anthony's, such as those located in Amarillo, Texas, became Bealls locations.

• Tri-North (Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington) Most of these locations operated as Hub Clothing Stores before the 1998 acquisition, when all 15 stores converted to Stage.

• B. C. Moore & Sons, (Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina). Acquired February 2006. By November 2006, 69 of these 76 stores were converted to the Peebles name and format, and the other nine were closed.

References

External links

• Official website