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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Steve & Barry's, like KB Toys, closing down

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

This KB Toys store in Kahului, Maui, is one of four statewide that are holding liquidation sales before being shut down permanently.

CHRISTIE WILSON | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Hawai'i is seeing its share of retailers calling it quits after the lackluster holiday shopping season this year.

Today is scheduled to be the last day of business for discount clothing retailer Steve & Barry's at Waikele Center, and four KB Toys stores on three islands are conducting liquidation sales.

Steve & Barry's filed for bankruptcy in July. It later said its Waikele superstore that opened in April would not be among 106 stores slated for closure in an effort to return the 276-store company to profitability.

But the Waikele store has been holding a liquidation sale that includes all inventory plus fixtures — from mannequins to mirrors — and employees there said today will be the store's last day in business.

An official from BHY Holdings LLC, an affiliate of investment firms Bay Harbour Management and York Capital Management that bought Steve & Barry's in August, did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.

KB Toys, which has almost 400 stores, filed for bankruptcy this month, and has targeted Feb. 9 to complete liquidation sales at all its stores.

In Hawai'i, KB Toys operates stores in Windward Mall and Kahala Mall on O'ahu, the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului, Maui, and the Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo on the Big Island.

There have been waves of layoffs in Hawai'i this year, prompting many shoppers to curtail their spending.

In response, many retailers have cut prices in an effort to boost sales at the expense of profits, which for some stores may prove too much to bear.

Analysts say discount retailers are in the best position to survive as shoppers try to stretch their spending, while retailers on shaky financial ground will be pushed over the edge more easily.

Steve & Barry's, which is known for its apparel licensing deals with stars such as actress Sarah Jessica Parker, tennis player Venus Williams and Maui big-wave rider Laird Hamilton, overextended itself in an aggressive expansion plan that led the Port Washington, N.Y.-based company to open some stores in less than ideal locations.

KB Toys had a longer history of financial struggles, having filed for bankruptcy in 2004. That move led the Pittsfield, Mass.-based company to close many stores, including three on O'ahu at Ala Moana Center, Pearlridge Center and Kamehameha Shopping Center.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.