Steve Shore and Barry Prevor grew up in the same Long Island neighborhood, remained friends through high school and college, and went on to discover that they could remain friends and become partners, too. For many, being both friends and partners in business is not an easy balancing act, but this pair seems to have made a success of blending the two.
While at the University of Pennsylvania, Prevor was floored by prices at the college shop for a hooded sweatshirt featuring UPenn”™s name and colors. His buddy, Shore, was equally flabbergasted by the cost of clothing at his own school, Tulane University. The two decided there had to be a more economical way to wear their school”™s logos on their backs without it breaking the bank. They opened their first store at UPenn in 1985.
“We got official licenses from the universities, because many of the colleges we contacted wanted their students to afford school ”˜colors”™ without a high price tag,” said Prevor.
Today, Steve and Barry”™s not only carries a number of school-insignia clothing, but sports teams”™ clothing proved to be as lucrative as schoolwear. Soon, the pair was on the road with lower-priced, quality clothing that “students could wear without feeling like they didn”™t have the best.” Prevor says the concerns about “not being the ‘right’ name of the tag” quickly evaporates because of the quality and workmanship of the apparel. “It doesn”™t have to cost a fortune to dress well,” said Prevor.
The pair has their ears to the ground, particularly when it comes to customer satisfaction. “We rely on consumer feedback,” said Prevor. “One woman e-mailed us to say she loved shopping our stores for her husband and sons, but there wasn”™t anything for women.” It didn”™t take the pair long to decide to add a bit of the feminine mystique to their offerings.
By 1998, Shore and Prevor were ready to go big-time, opening their first mall store in Detroit. They”™ve spent the last 10 years expanding their “national footprint,” mixing products and designer names, while sticking to their original mission ”“ college clothing and gear ”“ keeping it a mainstay in their growing inventory.
The two 40-somethings have opened more than 250 stores in 37 states, with their newest store opening in the town of Wallkill at Dunning Farms Plaza last month. To get Orange County residents acquainted and comfortable with its latest addition to the shopping mecca, everything in the store is priced $8.98 or less. “We”™re not talking about cheap clothing,” said Prevor. “It”™s quality clothing, but we are being realistic. Our main goal is to introduce the public to our line. We are in a tough economy, and want to be able to offer decent clothing at affordable prices.”
They plan to keep the Wallkill store”™s $8.98 promotion going until spring. After that, expect to find most items priced in the $19.98-and-under bracket, said Andrew Gilden, the company”™s public relations manager. “And it”™s still a bargain,” declared Prevor.
It”™s great to make money, said Prevor, but “there”™s nothing like having a customer come up and hug you and say, ”˜Thanks, you made it possible for me to give my family great gifts for the holidays.”™” Prevor says he and Shore make it a point to visit at least 10 of their stores each month to get customer feedback and to let both shoppers and employees know there are “real people behind the store”™s name; we are not just a faceless corporation.”
Their approach seems unique during these lean times, when most shoppers have trouble finding a salesperson, let alone a manager, in a chain store.
“Our customers are our biggest asset, as they are for every business,” said Prevor. “We love getting feedback and constantly try to improve on our brands. We”™ve gotten several upscale designers to come on board and lend their names and create exclusive designs for us. Sarah Jessica Parker”™s Bitten collection is an exclusive, as are V-Court shoes, the same ones worn by tennis champion Vanessa Williams.”
This year, Steve and Barry”™s added the “Big Ben” Wallace collection, created with NBA All Star Ben Wallace of the Chicago Bulls. Golf apparel designed by Bubba Watson is part of their sports collection, another Steve & Barry”™s exclusive. Wonderwall, a surf and skate line designed with Laird Hamilton, is scheduled to launch this spring.
Steve and Barry”™s has three stores in the Hudson Valley: Its Palisades Mall store opened in 2004; Kingston Plaza opened in November 2007. Wallkill makes that location the partners”™ 21st store in New York. While Prevor and Shore share the co-CEO title and live on Long Island, where the company is based, company president and chief financial officer, Andy Todd, is a Westchester native.
“Yes, we”™re scouting locations in Westchester, too,” Prevor said. “We think it”™s a great market and there is always room for a quality store at reasonable prices, especially considering the state of our economy. People like good quality at good prices, and our stores are doing well, despite the flat retail market.”
So well, in fact, Prevor says, “We took on a private equity partner about a year ago, and we”™ve certainly had a number of discussions about the potential of a public offering at some point in the future. We”™re not saying yes or no. Right now, we”™re focused on building great stores and growing the business to the extent at, some point in the future, it would be a way to finance greater expansion, add more products and categories to our growing list of offerings.”
