Syms Corporation

Syms Corporation

Company type	Public
Traded as	OTCQB: SYMSQ
Industry	Retail
Founded	1958 (1958)
Founder	Sy Syms
Defunct	2011 (2011)
Fate	Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, followed by closure
Headquarters	Secaucus, New Jersey , United States
Number of locations	55 Syms and Filene's Basement
Key people	Sy Syms Marcy Syms
Products	Clothing
Subsidiaries	Filene's Basement (acquired in 2009)

Syms Corp (styled as SYMS) was an off-price retail clothing store chain, founded by Sy Syms in 1958. Its headquarters was based in Secaucus, New Jersey, where it was incorporated in 1983. The company also owned Filene's Basement, which it acquired in June 2009.

On November 2, 2011, SYMS and Filene's Basement collectively filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. All SYMS and Filene's Basement stores were closed at the end of December 2011.

Prior to restructuring, the company and its subsidiary collectively owned and operated a chain of 55 "off-price" retail stores in 16 states; the company employed approximately 3,800 full and part-time workers. Each SYMS and Filene's Basement store offered a broad range of merchandise from nationally recognized designer or brand-name labels for men, women, and children.

In October 1983, SYMS Corp became a public company, traded on the New York Stock Exchange (SYM).

Company leadership

Sy Syms

Main article: Sy Syms

Sy Syms (1926–2009), who was born Seymour Merinsky, was a former sports broadcaster and regularly appeared in the company's television and radio commercials. He is also credited with coining the company's slogan, "An Educated Consumer is our Best Customer". Syms was founder of the company and remained chairman of the board until his death in November 2009. His daughter, Marcy Syms, succeeded him as chair in January 2010.

Marcy Syms

Marcy Syms joined the family business in 1978 as director of marketing and real estate. In 1983, when SYMS Corp went public, she was named president and a year later, added the role of chief operating officer. In 1998, she was named chief executive officer, and in 2009, she led the company through the purchase of Filene's Basement. She also steered the company through the closing and liquidation process, and eventual transition to new management (Trinity Place Holdings, Inc.). Since the closing of SYMS Corp and her departure, Marcy Syms remains an active philanthropist who has continued to facilitate raising the level of awareness for public television and the programing challenges it faces by diminished funding. In addition, she is the president of the Sy Syms Foundation and an original trustee of the board of overseers at the Sy Syms School of Business.

Sy Syms Foundation

Founded in 1985 with his personal funds, Mr. Syms's mission was to support education and, through his generosity, the non-profit Syms Foundation has effected the continued growth of many institutions of higher learning including the Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University, and many organizations which provide funding for education.

The foundation, over its 27-year history, has been a major Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio (NPR) through the underwriting of various programming.

Marcy Syms was instrumental in developing many of the grant-relationships made possible by her late father's generosity, and is a founding trustee of the foundation, elected to the role of president in 1997. The foundation has its offices in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

See also

• List of defunct retailers of the United States