Steve and Barry’s had multiple facets in its lifetime. Mainly known for its inexpensive, but high quality professional and university sportswear clothing line, Steve and Barry’s was always a hit among its customers. They made a science out of keeping costs low from mastering regulations of arcane tariff in order to find the best production locations, to bargaining hard with landlords for deals on renting space and spending very little on advertising but relying on “word of mouth” to spread the news of their great deals. So why didn’t they succeed? As you can see from the Google Trends map I have embedded, Steve and Barry's started plummeting around the time of the recession.
Although Steve and Barry’s did go bankrupt due to the downward spiral in the economy, I also attribute this to there being no solid backing mission to their statement. For example, [*www.toms.com/ Toms Shoe's] entire business model revolves around charity in that if you buy one pair of shoes, they will give a free pair to a poverty stricken individual in another country. Steve and Barry’s offered cheap clothing, but should have explicitly stated the amount of charity they offer though low prices so individuals who did not have the income to buy a pair of $80.00 basketball shoes could still buy cool looking basketball shoes for less than a fourth of the price of most common sportswear brands. As found in the article, "Stephon Marbury and Steve & Barry's Launch the Starbury Collection, Including Steph's New On-Court Sneaker", " Steve & Barry's co-CEO Barry Prevor said: "This is a very exciting moment for Steve & Barry's. When Steve and I founded our company in 1985, it was with a mission to bring people the most unbelievable values on clothes they've ever seen." Although the drive towards charity was hinted towards, it was not as clear as it should be.
Later in the same article, Marbury commented, "It was very important to me that the Starbury Collection have a strong social component for kids and parents, especially in urban areas. Steve & Barry's and I decided to conduct the design contest so kids could give real input into how the Starbury line is created and as a means to give back to youth and the community." Steve & Barry's would have done much better if they had focused in on that mission, making it known to all of their customers. As seen with Toms Shoes, making people of a lower class and higher class united through a brand of clothing, and added the additional benefactor that the higher class is helping the lower class, can be an extremely successful model.
In the article “Steve & Barry's fails to find financing — will sell assets”, the author states, “Steve & Barry's model of ultra low-priced young adult-oriented apparel has value, as do its licensing deals with Stephon Marbury, Ben Wallace, Venus Williams, Bubba Watson, Amanda Bynes, Sarah Jessica Parker, etc.” If a similar store were to open and focus in more on the amount of charity offered by the store, through keeping low prices, it would have potential to be very successful - just like Toms Shoes. This would especially be true if that store were to partner with famous celebrities and athletes, just as Steve & Barry's did, to ensure a quality that all socioeconomic classes would be interested in buying.