Students lament Steve & Barry’s impending exit

Even in a town that has long harbored an obsession with college sports, the slumping economy has taken its toll on the local Steve & Barry’s sports-apparel store. The Kirkwood staple is about to be yanked off the list of places to shop for IU apparel.

The Bloomington Steve & Barry’s location announced it is going out of business after serving IU’s campus for years.

The corporation will close all of its remaining 173 stores within the next five to seven weeks.

Company representatives were not available for comment Tuesday.

“I don’t know how they’re not staying in business because I feel like they make a lot of money,” said sophomore Bryant Donowitz. “It’s like the only store you can get Indiana clothes.”

During the past decade, the chain has focused on expanding in malls and college campuses around the nation. Throughout the years, students have turned to Steve & Barry’s for its “high quality clothing at astonishing low prices,” according to its Web site.

“All the other stores like adidas and Nike are so expensive,” said sophomore Matt Gillis. “I’m surprised because everything there is so cheap already.”

The closing of these stores follows Steve & Barry’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in July. Chapter 11 bankruptcy means the company can restructure without shutting down entirely, but the company said in court last week that it was scrapping plans to do that.

“Bankruptcy just means the corporation ran out of assets,” said associate law professor Christiana Ochoa.

The amount of workers a company employs affects the degree of harm to a community, especially a college campus. But a college town like Bloomington will survive without an “icon” such as Steve & Barry’s because there are usually a number of replacements, Ochoa said.

“I was surprised because I thought it did really good business, but I guess I was wrong,” said sophomore

Andrea Kroeger. “I think it’s a place that a lot of parents and stuff go when they come up for games.”

Bloomington’s Steve & Barry’s is one of seven in Indiana. With the declining economy, businesses throughout the state are continuing to hurt.

“People are spending less money with the economy being down, so I’m not surprised,” said sophomore Jason Brodsky.

Though the closing could mean a new business will move into the location, some students will be spending their money at alternative apparel stores.

“I’ll turn to other stores that sell the same thing, but I do think it’s kind of weird that it’s not going to be here anymore,” Kroeger said.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report.