Plaza's Mark Shale to close

Mark Shale will close its Country Club Plaza store Sunday as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

The Chicago-based retailer also will close three more stores in St. Louis, Dallas and Atlanta, and then concentrate on its four remaining Chicago area stores.

The company was forced to seek bankruptcy protection because of a significant sales decline that began in the fourth quarter of 2008.

It cut expenses and tried to work with landlords to reduce occupancy costs but was unable to reduce expenses enough to deal with the dramatic revenue decline.

"We just got caught in the tsunami of this economy. Our core customer, who has seen his net worth plummet, has stopped buying. We figured out how to deal with 30 percent less revenue but we could not figure out how to deal with 40 and 50 percent less revenue in such a short period," said Scott Baskin, co-president.

The Al Baskin Co. was founded in 1929 in Joliet, Ill. The company expanded to the Chicago market in the 1970’s with the opening of its first Mark Shale store.

During the 1980’s and 1990’s the company added Chicago area stores, including its Michigan Avenue flagship and expanded to out-of-state markets.

In 2000, Mark Shale added a catalog and Internet business.

Mark Shale also is known for its extraordinary customer service and store design.

Its Kansas City store and 900 North Michigan Ave. store both won prestigious "store of year" awards in store design competitions.

It also has consistently been named as one of the best stores in the United States by Esquire magazine.

"It’s our people who have made our company successful over the years," Baskin said. "We have a wonderful and talented group of people, many of whom have been with the company for 20 and 30 years. We are committed to do whatever we can to help our associates find new employment."

The company employees over 380 people, with 22 located in the Kansas City area.

Mark Shale first came to Kansas City with a 28,500-square-foot, two-story store at 111 Nichols Road in August 1993.

But after Saks Fifth Avenue closed and that building was renovated into the Cordoba building, Mark Shale relocated, taking a much smaller one-level space at 440 Nichols Road in late 2006.

A store closing sale will start Tuesday, March 24, with items discounted 30 percent or more.