Bankrupt Stage Stores Inc. has sold its intellectual property and other assets for $7 million to former rival Bealls Inc., a move that now combines both Bealls banners under one roof.
The sale includes not only the Bealls trade name, but also the Stage Stores, Goody’s, Gordmans, Palais Royal and Peebles trademarks. Stage, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection in May, is in the process of winding down operations after deciding to liquidate in August. It couldn’t be immediately determined if Bealls Inc. had any plans for the other nameplates it acquired from the Stage Stores bankruptcy.
Both Stage and Bealls Inc. operated retail stores under the Bealls banner. But Bealls Inc. only had the right to use the name in Florida, Georgia and Arizona, while Stage held the rights nationally.
The Stage asset sale to Bealls includes its private-label brands and customer lists, as well as ownership of Stage’s former 435,000-square-foot distribution center in Jacksonville, Texas.
Bealls also operates Burkes Outlet, Bunulu and Home Centric nameplates.
The asset sale marks the end of the line for Stage Stores.
The struggling chain last year planned to convert its store fleet to its Gordmans banner, converting the department store model to an off-price operation. Had it been successful, it would have operated about 700 off-price stores by mid-2020. But holiday 2019 sales were disappointing and then the coronavirus outbreak that saw temporary store closures in March to curb Covid-19’s spread derailed those plans.
