The company that created the celebrity-branded $15 athletic shoe plans to open a superstore in Hawai'i by the end of the year, bringing a radical new format of discount shopping to local consumers.

Steve & Barry's, a retailer that touts sub-$20 apparel and co-created the Starbury line of shoes with basketball star Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks, is slated to open a 24,000-square-foot store at Waikele Center in space formerly occupied by CompUSA.

The plan is part of an aggressive initiative in store growth and new product development for the company, which is opening about 70 stores this year and recently announced plans to sell a line of apparel items all priced under $20 with tennis star Venus Williams.

Many kama'aina probably aren't familiar with the Port Washington, N.Y.-based firm known in business circles for its cost controls that include a lack of advertising.

But local retail industry analyst Stephany Sofos said Steve & Barry's will shake up the market with its dramatic underpricing strategy.

"On the one hand it's great for consumers, but on the other hand it could be very devastating for competitors," she said. "It's a whole new level of guerrilla retailing."

A company representative could not be reached yesterday to comment on its Hawai'i plans.

Steve & Barry's describes itself as an outfit of engineers charged with creating "premium apparel at impossibly low prices," heralded to undercut discount giants like Target and Wal-Mart.

"Steve & Barry's is single-handedly changing the retail landscape," the company said on its Web site. "We're busting the model."

The retailer, with about 200 stores in 33 states, largely concentrates on collegiate-branded products, and licensed brands not big in the apparel industry such as Ford, General Mills, Hershey's, Hasbro, World Wrestling Entertainment and Marvel Comics.

Last year, Steve & Barry's rocked the sneaker world by producing a basketball shoe with Marbury and selling it for $14.98 in contrast with other player-branded shoes retailing for $100 to $200.

The Starbury, which Marbury wears during games, earned decent marks from Consumer Reports and led to a line of about 200 items, including a variety of shoes, jackets, jeans, a work boot, hats and other accessories — each selling for $14.98 or less.

Earlier this year, NBA player Ben Wallace of the Chicago Bulls signed on to wear Starbury shoes and is having his own Big Ben signature sneaker designed for exclusive sale at Steve & Barry's stores.

The Venus Williams line, dubbed EleVen, is due out later this month, featuring a $14.98 performance court shoe worn by the tennis star, and items for $19.98 or less, including track suits, gym bags, bras, jewelry and sports socks.

Steve & Barry's also launched a line of apparel this year with actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who's best known for her role on the HBO series "Sex and the City."

The company said some 500 items have been developed under the brand called BITTEN, each priced at $19.98 or less.

"Women should be able to wear great clothes and not lie in bed at night feeling guilty about how much money they've spent," Parker said in a statement announcing the line's introduction. "Steve & Barry's has made me a believer: High quality, luxurious clothes do not need to cost as much as we've been led to think."

Steve & Barry's was founded by childhood friends Steve Shore and Barry Prevor, who got into discount retailing selling $1 screen-printed T-shirts at flea markets across Long Island, N.Y., and New Jersey.

In 1985, the pair opened a discount collegiate apparel store at the University of Pennsylvania that was followed by others. In the late 1990s, the first Steve & Barry's mall-based store opened in Michigan.

Over the past few years, the chain has grown with mall-based stores that are typically between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet. The company opened about five stores last month, and plans to open roughly 20 more soon, including one on Monday in San Francisco.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.