Hal Kahn to Head Steve & Barry’s

Hal Kahn, formerly chairman and ceo of New York-based Macy’s East, has come out of retirement to head the bankrupt falling star, Steve & Barry’s LLC (Port Washington, N.Y.). The low-price fashion retailer declared bankruptcy in July and was acquired a month later by Bay Harbour Management LC (New York), which is in the process of shuttering 97 of the chain’s 270 stores.

While at then-named Federated Department Stores Inc. (Cincinnati), Kahn integrated the former Abraham & Straus and Stern’s divisions into the Macy’s group in the early 1990s. He was also instrumental in turning around Macy’s East after R.H. Macy & Co. went bankrupt and was taken over by Federated. He left Macy’s East four-and-a-half years ago.

“They got into a credit crunch,” Kahn said about his new company in an interview with The New York Times. “Hopefully, we’ll get some wind behind our back, which is going to be tough this Christmas, and we’ll have a good time volume-wise and profit-wise.”