Stein Mart

History

Stein Mart was founded in 1902 by Sam Stein, a Russian Jewish immigrant who opened his first store in Greenville, Mississippi. The department store carried general merchandise until Stein's son, Jake, took over the company upon his death in 1932. It was then that the store redirected its focus toward discounted clothing.

The chain targeted customers who shopped department stores on a regular basis, inducing them to purchase goods by offering discounts of 25 to 60 per cent off department store prices. By the late 1970s, Stein Mart was a leading retailer of clothing for the family in the Mississippi Delta.

Under Jay Stein’s leadership, Stein Mart grew from three stores in 1977 to 40 stores in 1990, and then to 123 stores by the end of 1996. In determining the prime locations for new Stein Mart stores, management targeted cities with populations of 125,000 or more and relied on demographic research regarding income, education, and occupation to help predict whether a community might support a discounter of designer merchandise.

In 2002, Jay Stein stepped down but remained as chairman and also the largest Stein Mart share holder to this day. John H. Williams, Jr., served as vice chairman and chief executive officer of the company from September 2001 to February 2003 and still serves on the Stein Mart board.

Michael D. Fisher held the position of president and chief executive officer of the company from 2003 to August 2007. At that time, Fisher resigned and Linda McFarland Farthing was appointed as president and chief executive officer of Stein Mart. Farthing had been a longtime Stein Mart board member and held the president and CEO position for one year. Upon her resignation in 2008, David H. Stovall Jr., served as CEO until 2011. In September 2011, he announced his retirement, leaving Jay Stein to take over as the interim CEO.

On April 25, 2014, Stein Mart announced that the Board of Directors had created the Office of the President, appointing D. Hunt Hawkins and Brian R. Morrow to share the office. Both will report to CEO Jay Stein. Hawkins has been with the company for 20 years, starting as Senior Vice President of Human Resources and COO since December 2011. Morrow joined Stein Mart as Chief Merchandising Officer in February 2010 after holding similar positions with Macy's North/Marshall, Mervyn's and Macy's West. Jacksonville Business Journal

On March 15, 2016, Stein Mart named Dawn Robertson as CEO, replacing Jay Stein.

Products

Stein Mart carries recent trends for women and men as well as home décor, accessories and shoes at a discounted price.

Stein Mart expanded their home department in Fall of 2010, and now carries houseware and décor for every room in the house. The Boutique portion of the store offers women special occasion clothing. The "Attitudes" section of the store carries clothing for women who are shopping for modern trends. Attitudes carries brand names that a better department store would and focuses on the latest looks at discount prices.

For decades Stein Mart has leased its shoe department, currently working with DSW, Inc.

In addition, Stein Mart started working with Perfumania in 2010 to stock an assortment of fragrances. In October 2010, due to popular demand by Stein Mart shoppers, the retailer began offering limited online shopping.

Advertising

In 2003, Stein Mart introduced the "Real Shopper" campaign with support from Orlando-based advertising agency, Fry Hammond Barr. This multimedia advertising campaign features real Stein Mart shoppers chosen via casting calls held throughout the country. As part of the casting call, Stein Mart looks for loyal female customers to share their stories about why they enjoy being a Stein Mart shopper. Each season six to eight female shoppers are chosen to appear in the campaign and are featured in Stein Mart's Sisterhood book online. On April 7, 2005, The Women of Studio Arena Theatre sponsored a luncheon and fashion show in Transit Valley Country Club, and fashions was shown by Stein Mart.