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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Stein Mart sees slow recovery
SHERRY DailyMAGILL Record NEW DailyLEADER Record AT LISC JACKSONVILLE
The fashion retailer faces liquidity issues after store closures
JACKSONVILLE
BY MARK BASCH CONTRIBUTING WRITER
irreplaceable.” She and the board want to conclude the search this summer. Magill would like to see LISC “deepening the work and broadening the work” it does in struggling neighborhoods. That means developing community strategies, raising capital and creating relationships with similar organizations in the city and introducing LISC to a broader audience. “The idea is to help people improve their own places, realize their own visions and bring every capital tool imaginable to
Stein Mart Inc. suffered a big drop in sales as the fashion retailer temporarily closed stores this spring, leaving the Jacksonvillebased company with many challenges. “The immediate issue we are currently facing is liquidity,” CEO Hunt Hawkins said in a June 30 conference call after Stein Mart reported a first-quarter net loss of $65.7 million. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stein Mart closed all of its 281 stores March 19 and began reopening them April 23. All stores were back open as of June 15 but are operating with reduced staff and hours, keeping sales down. “We continue to see traffic steadi- Hawkins ly i n c rea se and omnichannel sales remain strong,” Hawkins said, but “we expect it will take some time for our customers to feel totally comfortable shopping in this environment, so it may be a while before our sales fully recover.” The shortfall in sales is causing Stein Mart to borrow more money. The unused portion of its credit facility dropped to $22.4 million at the end of the first quarter May 2, down from $102 million a year earlier. That has Stein Mart looking for additional financing sources, which could include a sale of the company. Stein Mart had agreed to a buyout by private equity firm Kingswood Capital Management
SEE MAGILL, PAGE 2
SEE STEIN MART, PAGE 2
Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
Photo by Katie Garwood
Sherry Magill took over as chair of Local Initiatives Support Corp. in early March.
The Local Initiatives Support Corp. chair plans to broaden its work in the city. BY KATIE GARWOOD STAFF WRITER
A
s Sherry Magill settles into her role as chair of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. Jacksonville advisory board, she does not intend to change much about the organization, but broaden the work it does in the city. Magill took over as chair in early March, succeeding J.F. Bryan IV. He remains on the board as emeritus. LISC Jacksonville is a community development organization that “is a
bridge between capital and communities,” according to its website. It works with six Jacksonville neighborhoods: Eastside, Springfield, Northwest Jacksonville, New Town, the Rail Yard District and Downtown. Magill served on the board for three years before becoming chair. She was president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund for 25 years, retiring in 2018. At the top of Magill’s list is to find a new executive director. Janet Owens, who served in the role since 2010, died April 8 from cancer. She was 67. Magill said Owens “in many ways, is
Flying W Plastics to open manufacturing plant City Council approved a $100,000 grant for building improvements for West Virginia-based Flying W Plastics Inc., a plastic and pipe manufacturer. Flying W Plastics agreed to create 28 jobs and invest $8 million to renovate an existing industrial facility at 109 Stevens St. in Northwest Jacksonville. The money would come from the Northwest Jacksonville Economic Development Fund. Council approved Resolution 2020-0132 on June 23. More at JaxDailyRecord.com
VOLUME 107, NO. 162 • ONE SECTION