Stage Stores, Inc. is launching Steele's, its new off-price concept for small town America. Steele's will offer its customers great assortments of brand name family apparel, accessories, shoes and home décor at everyday values of 30 percent to 60 percent off department store prices.
Steele's will open to the public on November 1 st with stores in Beeville, TX, Bastrop, LA and Minden, LA. The Company plans to open between 25 and 35 additional new Steele's stores in 2012. The typical Steele's store will occupy 10,000 12,000 square feet in small town strip centers.
Steele's is headquartered in New York City and operates as a stand-alone buying division. Leading the division is Lisa Seigies, Steele's Chief Merchandising Officer. Ms. Seigies has over 25 years of retail experience and prior to joining Stage Stores she spent five years at Ross Stores as Group Vice President.
Commenting on the launch of Steele's, Andy Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are very excited to be adding an off-price concept to our retail mix. Steele's is a perfect complement to our successful small town department store business model and expands our small town customer reach. Last year, we began developing our off-price concept with the goal to leverage our small market expertise with a complementary format to our department store model. Our research indicates that there is significant growth potential in the under-served small market off-price niche. We believe the Steele's customer will not overlap with those in our department store model as Steele's is targeting a lower household income consumer.
“With a wealth of off-price knowledge, strong leadership skills and over 25 years of retail experience, Lisa is extremely well qualified to help develop and lead Steele's. I am delighted to have her on our executive management team.
