Syms Corporation is an off-price clothing store chain

Chain store

Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...

 founded by Sy Syms

Sy Syms

Sy Syms was an American businessman, entreupreneur and philanthropist, who founded the SYMS off-price clothing chain in New York City in 1959....

 in 1959 with outlets in several states. It also owns the Filene's Basement

Filene's Basement

Filene's Basement, also called The Basement, is a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores which was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 when it was sold to Syms....

 stores.

The company currently operates 33 stores in 13 states, the bulk of which are centered in the Northeast, with a few stores also in the Midwest, and extending to a few stores in the South.

The company is based in Secaucus, New Jersey

Secaucus, New Jersey

Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 16,264. Located within the New Jersey Meadowlands, it is the most suburban of the county's municipalities, though large parts of the town are dedicated to light manufacturing, retail, and...

.

History

Sy Syms, who was born Sy Merinsky (the entire family later changed their name to Merns), was a former broadcaster and regularly appeared in the company's commercials. He is also credited with coining the company's slogan, "An Educated Consumer Is Our Best Customer".

As of May 23, 2006, the company was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...

.

Syms attempted to delist its shares from the NYSE and sought to deregister its shares from Securities and Exchange Commission oversight in December 2007. Syms subsequently was sued by various investment funds in January 2008 demanding that Syms re-register its shares with the S.E.C. and re-list on either the NYSE or NASDAQ. The investment funds urged shareholders to take various actions to force Syms to re-register its shares. Syms was forced to re-register its shares with the S.E.C. and to re-list on the NASDAQ after shareholders revolted.

In 2009, Syms bought venerable Boston off-price store Filene's Basement

Filene's Basement

Filene's Basement, also called The Basement, is a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores which was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 when it was sold to Syms....

in bankruptcy court, but attempts to co-brand stores faltered.

On November 2, 2011, Syms and Filene's Basement filed for bankruptcy protection. The company announced plans to close after the holiday season.