Steve & Barry's on the brink of bankruptcy?

does any one recall the extra day pay for years work that was on soc about three to four months ago. I just want to make it is in my package when it is over at the end of the month.b Good luck everyone

I wanted to provide everyone with an update on the company and our current operations. As I write this many of you are conducting inventories, transfers, liquidation sales and just trying to stay current with the many announcements and directives. From the bottom of my heart I thank you. This is a very difficult time, we have so much to do and so little time to do it. I understand the frustration that is radiating from the stores, trust me your DM's have been venting it directly up the pipeline. All of it is justified. Up to this point there has been very little news on the reformation of our company. Try to keep in mind that all of this takes time. The actual bidding process, approval of the bid and transferring of the company ownership just got completed last week. So while we are all anxious to hear about change, we have to remain patient. Bay Harbor and York both have representatives in the NYO this week trying to familiarize themselves with our systems and personnel. Things should start to speed up a little over the next few weeks, communications should increase and news should start to flow at a more rapid rate.

That said, I do have some news. There was a meeting held in the NYO office this week. (The meeting was taped and a DVD will be delivered to stores sometime next week). Here is a sneak peak at what was discussed during that meeting.

* Advertising, an aggressive national advertising budget has been created for fourth quarter (stay tuned).

* Pricing strategy is going to change, tiered pricing and higher margins.

* A dvd will be arriving at your store within the next week. It's a recording of a corporate meeting that was held in the NYO with our new owners. This will shine some more light on the new faces involved
with our company and allow you to hear some of the things in this email first hand.

* Our CFO Joe Soccodato has left the company, his last day is today. Bay Harbor has brought in their own financial team to handle our accounting and corporate budgeting.

* Steve and Barry will no longer be involved in the daily operations of the company. We will have a CEO answering directly to the board of directors and Doug Teitelbaum (founder of bayharbour) , the
CEO has yet to be named. In fact none of the corporate titles have been restored or named, I would look for this portion of our reorganization to slowly evolve and a few of the names/positions to change.

* We will start to grow the company again, slowly. There are plans in the works to start opening new stores again next year. These stores will be in viable malls located in large markets with smaller
footprints, probably 25,000sq ft and less.

* New sign/banner and OAP package coming soon, total new look for our stores! (bye bye snowflakes)

While this news is exciting and hopefully a little energizing, please take a moment to think of our managers working in the closing stores. None of this news will relieve how sad and devastating those closures are. My thoughts are with each of you as well as my gratitude.

Thank you all for your hard work and professionalism during this time.
As always, I am available to answer any of your questions or concerns.
Please don't hesitate to call or email.

This is directly form our COO GS. Please read and laugh hysterically. Lets all join together in thanking our CFO. I've got two words for you...Mo-ron.

Please join me in thanking Joe Soccodato for his four years of service with us and his many extraordinary accomplishments, as today is his last day at Steve & Barry's. We've been very fortunate to have him as our CFO and wish him the best of luck in all of his future endeavors. We'll miss you, Joe!

Walter Jones and Howard Konicov, of JH Cohn Consultants, will be filling the role of interim CFO during our search for Joe's successor.

Please also join me in formally welcoming Alan Barnett aboard. Alan is our new Sr. Director of Planning, Allocation & Analytics, and comes to us with many years of experience leading these efforts at Barneys New York, Loehmann's, among several other venerable retailers.

Well.....I'm back...back from the hectic decisions made by this new company. i'm a little off from all the posts, actually im off by alot of posts. Right now it doesn't matter since my store is not closing. I have dodged several bullets. Even though labor hours is not increasing and sales not increasing, my staff is still working their butts off. Everyday i thank them for their hardwork and the stress that has occurred. even though we are not back to normal, we are still hanging in there.

I am truely sorry for the stores that are closing down. Every person in the closing store will definitely find a better and higher paying job. You will even feel better! Good Luck!

As for the posts...keep them coming! Even though we don't get information from the store level, it's nice to know that NYO and rumors people share are willing to give out information. Thanks!

Does everyone remember all of those conference calls we has with dumb ass EH? He stated more than once that all closing stores will NOT be packing shit up and we would be selling everything. He also said we would all have 3 to 4 months to finds jobs. And on top of it all, all but 15 stores are closing on the 30th. WOW! That leaves us with a piece of shit severance package! Yeah Eric that severance package will be enough to pay my house and feed my kids for a month or 2. I don't mind doing the work, what I hate is being lied too. All you had to say Eric was that your store is closing in a month and you have to pack up and ship out a lot of boxs with 2 days notice. In my closing statement I would just like to say that you Eric are a fuc***g idiot! It wouldn't surprise me that you still live at home with your mommy and daddy. And you mom still wipes your ass. I hope you are one of the top people that are going to be let go at the end of the month. If you are not, this company will be in the same boat a year or two from now.

you-are-all-losers:

I laugh every time anyone in retail management call themself "professional" or a "leader". Especially at SnB.
What exactly do you think is professional about your job? You are merely the highest paid associate in the building. You have nothing to do with budgets or contracts. You are not in a decision making position. You do not decide how much payroll you need to run your building. You do not negotiate vendor contracts or bids. You do not negotiate leases. You do not make decisions on real estate nor any input on location. You do not buy, order or allocate your merchandise. You do not distribute mechandise. You do not sit at the table with any executive. You have nothing to do with the ownership of your building. You have simply no role in running the company. Three keyhoders and a camera could run any of your buildings. You do not even fit the definition of a manager.

What you do is fold t-shirts, sweep the floors, empty the trash, etc. You do what you are told by the corporate office. You follow policies that you had no hand in developing. You pick up after customers and unload trucks. You process freight. You write schedules for hourly associates and are told how many hours to schedule. You take the blame for problems someone else created. You deal with angry customers and defer to resolutions someone else decides. You run a cash register.

Believe me, if corporate could figure out how to put a "U-scan" in your building you would be even less important.

Your peers are teenagers, single moms and empty nesters. When is the last time you "managed" adults or had a grown up conversation with one of your employees.

Professional? Think again. You are a clerk. No one in the professional world considers you a peer.

If you are over the age of 25 and still wearing a name tag to work. Something has gone wrong in your life.

sooo, Does anyone know when more markdowns are coming? We've pulled all of our celebrity lines as per the first wave and will do our second wave next week. If we'd have had the signage on our stores front before like we have now, we'd have been much busier. Our store wasn't ever even painted after the old Wal-Mart moved out. People still thought it was the old abandoned building sitting empty. Hope they get some new marketing blood with the takeover..it's sorely needed.

Looks like Tom C. has a problem with the leaders of individual stores. If he knew what he was talking about, he may rephrase what he is saying. It doesn't take any John Q. Public to run a SNB store. It takes a real leader to be able to pull off running an effectively replenished store and making sure that it gets recovered every night by company standards on next to nothing labor allocation. It takes a real leader to squeeze out every single penny out of a customer by using the self-taught skills that they have. It takes a real leader to be able to hold on to every associate (from WHATEVER social background that they may have) when even the leader doesn't know what is happening. It takes a leader to make sure that operational procedures are being held to standard and that things are running smoothly on next to nothing hours. You get my drift? Any manager can leave Steve and Barry's and go to another job and thrive. But place any old manager that doesn't have the right attitude (which you are lacking) and the right inherited leadership skills into Steve and Barry's and they will get eaten alive (which I think is what happened to you).
So in conclusion, you are sadly wrong and I am sure that there are 276 stores worth of managers that would disagree with you. We are not glorified keyholders, head cashiers, stock specialists, fitting room attendants. We do what we do with the little amount of hours that we are given to work with and keep stores running efficiently. We just happened to get caught up in the decisions and the indecisions from the Senior Management. You should go back to your sad, misguided, pathetic existence and not post junk like you have just done so that us "leaders" don't have to waste our time defending our decision to come to this company and stay with this company. You are a loser and I surely hope that you were never part of this company and if so, that you are no longer part of this company.

Does anyone know which stores are closing? I hear they are keeping all the Long Island stores open is this true. As a former NYO employee, I wish everyone out there who is about to lose or already has their jobs all the luck in the world finding a new job in this bad economy. My heart goes out to those with families to feed and houses to maintain. I had to do it for a while as well. Good luck and G-d speed!

I was Gobsmacked:

Thanks for proving my point. You don't know the meaning of leadership. But hey, whatever makes you feel better. It's your choice to be in the service industry. And no, I never worked at SnB but a good friend of mine is one of your store directors and understands his position and has a very well run and high volume store. He is comfortable with his role and doesn't need to delude himself to be efficient. He has been with the company over three years now so I guess that makes him a long term associate with SnB.
Anyway, good luck to you and all at SnB. It is your leadership that failed you. So if you insist on calling yourself a leader you must also accept the responsibilty of what your leadership brought to the organization. Since you "are" the organization you cannot seperate yourself from the organization. So you either lead or you are led.

Just got off the corporate conference call for the "going forward" stores. To the credit of EH & GS, they have now figured out that at some point, they have to communicate with the stores and this was their first attempt.
They did answer several questions many of us are wondering each day. Sadly, the fact that they both seemed very uncomfortable and poorly prepared for the call makes what they told us somewhat incredible. Based on an earlier post, I counted the number of "ums" in the call. (I thought the earlier posts had to be inflating the number.) My count was GS had 182 and EH had 616 ums. I guess by Tom C.'s definition, they are leaders, but they sure aren't speakers! Prior loss prevention training points me tword not believing anyone that says "um" over 600 times in less than an hour of speaking. I'm concerned that EH is still not being entirely forthcoming with us.
Time will tell.

Just found the below job posting listed within the last day on a job site in Georgia. Guess we only need high school grads for managers positions.....and from this posting, looks like we are cranking out 100,000 sf locations all over! My guess is someone should tell recruiting to update their talking points!

Location : Columbus GA US 31906
Travel Required : None
Job Type : Full Time
Career Level : Manager (Manager/Supervisor of Staff)
Education : High School
Category : Business/Strategic Management
Job Description : Sarah Jessica Parker's exclusive BITTEN clothing line. The hottest on-court NBA basketball shoes in the industry from the Starbury Collection and the Big Ben Wallace Collection - each for $14.98 or less. One of the thickest heavyweight hooded sweatshirts you've ever laid your hands on, with your favorite school embroidered across the chest, for under fifteen bucks. Premium-washed jeans, chinos, cargo pants, kids’ apparel, and down jackets - down jackets! - each about the same price as lunch around the corner. 100,000 square foot superstores rolling out across the country at record pace, featuring impossible prices, unprecedented values, and plasma television displays.

This is who we are. This is what we do. This is Steve & Barry's.

We're about busting the model. We're about defying convention. We're about reengineering every system and process previously considered fundamental to the retail business.

Join us to rewrite all the rules. Join us to challenge everything people think they know about buying clothes. Join us to help change everything.

Regarding the article in this morning's NY Post, I'm not sure which is funnier, the fact that a little chinese guy is threatening the safety of all SNB employees over the 8 grand he didn't get paid for surfboards, (Now you know why we all didn't get those props) or the fact that Chris Fugarino is now considered an "executive".

There is an opening at SNB that would suit me, but I can't in good consience continue working for these lowlifes. I'm taking my severance and taking one of the many offers I have for employment in a stable, long term retailer. Best of luck to the field managers.

Can someone post the details of that call as to what the plans are for going forward? And let us know when these calls come up so we can listen in? We don't have much else to do besides making nc cases, which, while I'm at it, I should apologize for the condition of. When they send out 4 revisions to a scanfile, they get the appropriate result. I hope you going forward stores haven't been lulled into thinking this incompetence is going to magically right itself.

Note to corporate. Now that you fired all the nobodies in the office, why don't you hire yourself some fact checkers, so the field gets the info CORRECTLY THE FIRST TIME. You boobs still haven't got the slightest idea how to umm, communicate. And you look like idiots to the field people that have worked for companies that wouldn't stand for this lack of attention to detail for a second. I'll tell you what. Why don't you send us a picture of what you want to do, and we'll grade you on it.......

Does anyone know how long our store will stay open after boxing up everything but infants, socks and underwear??? And you're right about the directives...get them right the first time. It's hard enough training temps to do it one way, let alone turning around and changing the orders. I can't believe the lack of communication between corporate and store employees...it's inexcuseable. We work for you...let us know what's going on! I'm guessing our doors will be locked by next week. Time to move on

We have no idea whether if Eddy Xiao did what the little kid Christopher Fugarino accused. But no doubt BHY S&B is telling lie! The fact is that most of the goods even shipped 12 months ago without pay till today!!! One side they inform all vendors of China by email end of last August "The "old" entity is what remains of the Steve & Barry's estate - the assets that were not purchased by BHY S&B Holdings." to get rid of the payment. On another side they – BHY S&B treat vendors individually to accept a 30% ↓discount payments by email for all shipped goods which has to confirmed and accepted within 7 days! Otherwise vendor has to deal with the member of conspiracy, AGI Logistic to dispose the goods by their own way with all surcharge cause for the sake of shipped goods which S&B ordered and shipment approved! AGI also treat that all goods will be going to auction unless shipper settle all the “DEBT” cause by S&B and all these alleged surcharges is keeping increase daily until its reach the total cargo value!!!! Some of the goods allege seized by AGI Logistic in fact already released to the head of the conspiracy long time ago even last year!!! We know very well who is the “ARRANGED” buyer in the auction of all these shipped goods!!!! It is definitely a fraud manage by all of them with well planning. If the “NEW” entities did not purchase any goods from the vendors so why they treat for the discount payment and vendor should accept to release the goods to whom????? The fact is that they are the same old group!!!

All the unpaid invoice and ready to ship goods value more than 20M that S&B case already made China government alert and getting involved. The China vendors decided not to give anymore support to whatever the “OLD” or the “NEW” entities due to the stupid treat email. When you American working with the conspiracy and shipping happily in the S&B shop, no doubt you will smell the swear and toil on each merchandise if you are human being with heart!!!

Can someone translate that last post for me?

That is very less vendors got this “SPECIAL OFFER” of discount payment, BHY S&B just simply ignore all the payment inquiry of others and push the ball to AGI to fooling vendors around by auction!!!

commish,,, this is the reply to YOU regarding the email threat published on NY Post!

By JAMES COVERT
Last updated: 1:23 pm
September 12, 2008
Posted: 3:47 am
September 12, 2008

An executive at Steve & Barry's has accused an irate manufacturer of threatening the "health and safety" of the bankrupt retailer's current and former employees, according to e-mails reviewed by The Post.

Port Washington, LI-based Steve & Barry's, which filed for Chapter 11 in July, owes $7,921.50 for a shipment of surfboards it ordered to promote surfing star Laird Hamilton's Wonderwall clothing line that launched at Steve & Barry's this spring, the e-mails show.

Complaining that he has waited more than four months for payment, an executive at China-based manufacturer Waynex this week sent a slew of e-mails to Steve & Barry's and an Asia-based middleman.

"When dialog fails, we will have to look into other approaches," Waynex executive Eddy Xiao wrote in a Monday e-mail.

In an e-mail sent to reporters the following day, Xiao wrote that when consumers "happily shop" for low-priced clothing at Steve & Barry's stores, "they are actually buying clothes. . . soaking of blood and tears of worldwide vendors."

In a written response to Xiao, Steve & Barry's executive Christopher Fugarino referred to "additional threats" Xiao allegedly made "regarding the health and safety of current/former employees."

"While unfortunate, the Chapter 11 process is still an acceptable course of action under US law," Fugarino wrote. "The threats you have been making, however, may be considered illegal; please stop sending them."

"We respect the bankruptcy process and it should be dealt with in bankruptcy court," a Steve & Barry's spokesman said.

Xiao couldn't be reached for comment.

We have no idea whether if Eddy Xiao did what the little kid Christopher Fugarino accused. But no doubt BHY S&B is telling lie! The fact is that most of the goods even has been already shipped 12 months ago without pay till today!!!

One side they inform all vendors of China by email end of last August ......"The "old" entity is what remains of the Steve & Barry's estate - the assets that were not purchased by BHY S&B Holdings." trying to get rid of the goods payment and responsibility. On another side they – BHY S&B threatening vendors individually to accept a 30% ↓discount payments by email for all shipped goods which has to confirmed and accepted within 7 days ! Otherwise vendor has to deal with the member of conspiracy - AGI Logistic, to dispose the goods by their own way with all surcharge for the sake of shipped goods which ordered and shipment approved by S&B!

AGI also threatening that all goods will be going to auction unless shipper settle all the “DEBT” of S&B and all these alleged surcharges by AGI is keep increasing until its reach the total cargo value!!!!

Some of the goods allege seized by AGI in fact already released to the head of the conspiracy long time ago even last year!!! That is very less vendors got this “SPECIAL OFFER” of discount payment by BHY S&B, they just simply ignore all the payment inquiry of vendors and push the ball to AGI to fooling vendors around by the auction game!!!

We know very well who is the “ARRANGED” buyer in the auction of all these shipped goods!!!! It is definitely a fraud manage by all of them with well planning. If the “NEW” entities did not purchase any goods from the vendors so why they threatening for the discount payment and vendor should accept to release the goods to whom????? The fact is that they are the same old group!!!

All the unpaid invoice and ready to ship goods value more than 20M that S&B case already made China government alert and getting involved. The China vendors decided not to give anymore support to whatever the “OLD” or the “NEW” entities due to the stupid threatening email. When you American working with the conspiracy and shopping happily in the S&B shop, NO DOUBT YOU WILL SMELL OUR SWEAT AND BLOOD ON EACH MERCHANDISE IF YOU ARE HUMAN BEING WITH HEART!!!