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Several Small Businesses Created from the Demise of S&K Famous Brands
Mar 9, 2010 05:00:01 (ET)
RICHMOND, Va., Mar 09, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- With the demise of S&K Menswear in 2009, four new Richmond, Virginia-based business ventures have risen from the ashes. The perfect economic storm that included a credit market collapse, consumer-led recession, housing and financial market implosions, all proved too strong for the off-price men's apparel retailer to overcome. S&K had struggled to change its business model fast enough to remain relevant, and the chain was forced to liquidate in August, 2009.
When a large business such as S&K fails, it can also create opportunity in the marketplace. The new ventures include a marketing consultancy, an e-commerce retailer, a uniform and logo-wear business and a web development company. These new businesses have an opportunity to flourish and grow, even within a continued difficult economic environment.
A new focus on small business also appears to be a good job growth strategy for America. According to the Labor Department, small companies created an average of 113,000 jobs per month, from February through December of 2009 -- a period when total employment fell by a non-seasonally adjusted 3.7 million. Additionally, according to the SBA, small business generated 64% of all net new jobs over the past 15 years. Conversely, several large corporations such as Circuit City, S&K, Qimonda and LandAmerica Financial have shuttered their doors in the Richmond area over the past two years.
Here's a profile of the new business ventures:
CMO Retail Solutions, LLC -- Formed by Bryan Kipp, former VP Marketing of S&K Menswear in June, 2009. Bryan has 20 years of senior level marketing and consulting experience. The firm is a marketing consultancy with a focus on strategic planning, digital communication and creating low-cost, high-return ROI-centric marketing solutions for retail and non-profit clients. Bryan commented, "I'm the guy you want to call when you want quantifiable results, but you don't want to spend a fortune in upfront media campaigns." He added "there's tremendous opportunity today for retailers to capture market share and grow their brand, at a significantly lower cost than using traditional agencies and media." They also have created a network of best-in-class smart partners to assist with specialized projects. They are currently working with several retail, business and non-profit clients.
Direct Menswear ( www.Direct-Menswear.com ) -- Formed by Bert Hardy, former CFO of S&K Menswear in June, 2009 along with two other S&K alums -- Brandon Atkinson and Kevin Ferguson. Direct Menswear is a family-owned and operated e-commerce retail business whose model aims to provide quality products and big savings. Selling exclusively on the web, direct to their customers, allows them to offer substantially lower prices. Their product offerings include a wide variety of menswear -- from suit attire to casual wear to accessories. Leveraging their knowledge of retail e-commerce and relationships with apparel vendors, they purchased their initial inventory, rented warehouse space, built the website and infrastructure, and launched the business in August 2009. Since then, they have commissioned their own line of suits and are building a following of loyal customers who are attracted to their product, low prices and personal customer service.
Haberdasher Corporate Apparel LLC - Formed by Scott Ilnicky, former Director of S&K's Corporate Apparel division, and his wife Helen Ilnicky, in June, 2009. Their new company takes Scott's 20 years of apparel experience working with Fortune 500 uniform rental and work-wear vendors and adds "mom and pop" values and commitment to service, customers, and employees. Haberdasher is a direct sales uniform company that provides apparel solutions for its customers. With access to dozens of manufacturer partners, they provide a variety of garments; from chef coats to scrubs to polo shirts to industrial coveralls. Haberdasher's customers are as diverse as the apparel they sell and range from five-star restaurants to the area's largest hospitals. The company has had a fabulous start and looks forward to continued growth in 2010.
Robot Dog Web Development and Design -- Formed by Brandon Atkinson, former Web Manager and Developer at S&K Menswear, and his wife Jennie Cook, a former Web Merchandising Manager at Poshtots.com, in Spring of 2009. Serial entrepreneurs themselves, they quickly recognized a need in the marketplace for small business website development. Robot Dog is a development and design firm with a focus on web applications and web design, e-commerce, SEO, social media, and email marketing. Frequently asked about the origin of the company's name, Brandon commented, "I really wanted to avoid anything stodgy and convey that we are energetic, fun, and non-corporate." Proof that business is booming for Robot Dog? They designed the sites for CMO Retail Solutions, Direct Menswear, and Haberdasher Corporate Apparel.
SOURCE: CMO Retail Solutions, LLC
CMO Retail Solutions, LLC
Bryan Kipp, 703-401-6512
b.kipp@cmoretailsolutions.com
or
Direct Menswear
Bert Hardy, 804-385-3972
bert@direct-menswear.com
or
Haberdasher Corporate Apparel LLC
Scott Ilnicky, 804-878-7630
scott@haberdashercorporateapparel.com
or
Robot Dog Web Development and Design
Brandon Atkinson, 804-457-6413
b.atkinson@robotdogdesign.com
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