Economic Forecast: Retailer invests in existing stores, new shopping concept

Company: Bealls’ fiscal year is August through July, so this past fiscal year included the impacts of Hurricane Irma. “The month of September last year was certainly one to forget,” says Steve Knopik, CEO of Bealls Inc., a Bradenton-based retailer with more than 500 stores and $1.34 billion in revenue last year. “We believe that you’ve got to really learn to play through, as they say in golf. Play through your troubles.” Now the company is bouncing back, he says.

This year, for example, the company plans to open 13 more Bealls Outlet stores. “The off-price segment of our ilk of retailing has been performing quite well for a number of years,” he says.