904 356-JOBS (5627)

904 356-JOBS (5627)

(Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Miami-based Retail Ecommerce Ventures has won a bankruptcy court auction for the intellectual property of Jacksonville-based department store Stein Mart with plans to relaunch the brand online.

Stein Mart Online, a REV subsidiary, submitted a winning bid of $6.02 million for the brand at the Nov. 18 auction from Hilco Streambank, an IP advisory firm that was marketing Stein Mart’s assets. The deal for the retailer’s private label brands, domain names, social media assets and customer data was approved Nov. 23 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division.

REV, which also owns Dress Barn and Pier 1 Imports, on Wednesday announced it would revamp Stein Mart as an online-only business by early 2021. The company has a similar plan for RadioShack, which REV also recently acquired.

“Our growing set of investors sees Stein Mart as another important addition to our increasing stable of venerable brick-and-mortar retail brands that we are bringing back-to-life as online destinations,” said Alex Mehr, CEO of Miami-based REV. “With 281 stores in 30 states at the time of its bankruptcy filing in August, Stein Mart was a beloved destination for off-price shoppers in the Southeast, Texas, Arizona and California for more than 100 years.”

Over the last two years, REV has also acquired such brands as Linens ‘N Things, Modell’s Sporting Goods and Franklin Mint with the goal of making traditional brick-and-mortar brands successful as online-only shops.

Prior to the deal, Stein Mart announced plans to close all 279 of its stores following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Photo courtesy of Retail Touchpoints.