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Calypso St. Barth Has Closed Its Tribeca Boutique
The Calypso St. Barth boutique at 137 W. Broadway—a mainstay of one of Tribeca’s prime shopping moments—has abruptly closed. “Seems sudden since inside looks like it’s still stocked and decorated,” reports G. I’ve reached out to see if there are plans to open elsewhere downtown; the nearest one is now uptown, on Madison. In 2013, the company announced a Brookfield Place store, and then changed its mind. UPDATE: See Jerry’s comment about the state of the company.
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Calypso may be getting ready to file chapter 11. They owe designers and suppliers thousands of dollars and have been served an eviction notice at their L I City corporate office for not paying rent.
They owe thousands in Aspen as well…
I’ve heard the same things about the sister store Beval Saddlery. Vendors have been complaining about owed money.
From glassdoor.com, for what it is worth:
Sep 19, 2017
“Sad to see a good company crumble”
Former Employee – Store Manager in Chicago, IL
Doesn’t Recommend
Negative Outlook
I worked at Calypso St. Barth full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
The company was thriving just 2 years ago. There was great team spirit and corporate had a great overall system going. Things took a turn for the worst and especially and unfortunately have hit rock bottom since 2017 started. Can’t imagine the company being around come 2018. As for now, there are so many wonderful managers and employees working for the company. I wish corporate would have realized that if they utilized the talent under their noses they could have been successful.
Cons
Poor decisions with no research are what ran the company to the ground. Sizing changed basically eliminating any woman over size 10. This KILLED our client business and every employee would have been able to communicate that had any one ever taken the time to ask. Silhouettes were the same year to year without big enough changes. Ladies didn’t want to shop the same shirt every winter for 4 years. Colors and style needed to be changed to keep things interesting. They also tried marketing and capturing a new/younger client base, without re-strategizing… things became just as confusing for the teams as it did for the clients. Lastly, I think corporate (and by corporate I mean Solaria) didn’t care enough about their people. We were numbers and names, not people that cared about the company/clients more than they cared about most things in their lives. Putting associates in sticky situations with outstanding vendors, closing stores with 3 days notice, and keeping associates out of the loop… isn’t fair or respectful. It’s just plain bad business.
Advice to Management
Unfortunately I think things are too far gone at this point… I can’t see saving the company at this point.
Aug 29, 2017
“Stores are closing, no HR dept. or corporate”
Former Employee – Manager in New York, NY
I worked at Calypso St. Barth full-time (More than a year)
Pros
Beautiful clothing and store atmosphere. Great concept for a company. Decent commission structure. Great clientele. Good experience hosting and running events.
Cons
Stores are closing, corporate employees are leaving and not being replaced, dated computer system, low pay for the amount of work expected, dramatic environment etc etc
This is the same case with Beval Saddlery. Everything James mentioned is exactly how Solera Capital runs Beval Saddlery.
The long standing customers of Beval have left because the lack of needed inventory.
I think by this Friday or Monday they will file.
Any update on this?
Tried to go to their store in Short Hills on Monday. It was boarded closed with no signs about why. Placed an online order and got this response via email today: “Update: Due to unforeseen circumstances with our shipping partners, we are unable to process or ship orders at this time. We are deeply sorry that we are unable to fulfill orders and we can assure you that once the order is canceled, any pending charges will be remitted back to the original method of payment within 2 to 3 business days. We thank you for your understanding during this difficult time and again apologize for the inconvenience.” The main phone # has been disconnected. So sad to see them go.
It is sad. The company was run into the ground by the founder of Solera Capital. Systematically, this great brand was killed off and the investors and employees have been lied to throughout that process. They owe millions upon millions to the market place, vendors, landlords and other suppliers. How this has gone on for so long, is a mystery. Solera Capital track record is terrible- the Calypso story applies to all of the companies they have touched and tried to manage. Pathetic.
Dallas store is closed too. Sign taped to front door that reads: closed until further notice.
“About a half-dozen vendors on Wednesday filed an involuntary Chapter 7 petition against the private equity-owned chain, claiming the chain hasn’t paid some bills in a year — and that it was stonewalling them when they reached out to try and get some cash, papers filed in a New Jersey Bankruptcy Court reveal. […]
“A note posted on one shuttered outlet read: ‘We apologize for the store closing, it wasn’t in our control. In fact, our company Solera Capital failed to pay their people, down from vendors, charities, UPS, the light company even the stores’ rent, etc.’ […]
“Michael Bloomberg’s gal pal, Diana Taylor, is a vice chairman of Solera.”
http://nypost.com/2017/11/01/calypso-st-barth-faces-vendor-petitions-in-bankruptcy-court/
Employees haven’t been paid either with no communication. They are being forced to work for free by the greedy parent company Solera Capital. The should close down and allow the poor employees to collect unemployment
“In August, Calypso told its sales staff that even the music that’s piped into its stores, computers and phone lines was getting shut off, according to internal e-mails obtained by The Post. Some employees said they showed up to work in recent weeks, only to head back home because the lights wouldn’t switch on.
“’As our inventory dwindles, we reassure our customers that we aren’t closing because that’s what we’ve been told to say,’ one fed-up employee griped in an email last month to management and workers that went nationwide.
“’But now that our phones don’t ring and the UPS no longer delivers packages and we’re selling a schizophrenic mash-up of spring, summer and fall to try to keep our rack full, those words feel hollow and rather delusional.’”
http://nypost.com/2017/11/10/calypso-st-barths-skirts-on-paying-bills-amid-major-cash-crunch/
I’m a vendor from Boston and haven’t been paid. I travelled on my own expense to the Hamptons twice for trunk shows. It is disgusting how they knew they had to be in some sort of trouble and just took advantage of small businesses like mine.
Solara Capital, you should be responsible for payment. It’s so sad to see, it was a beautiful brand. What a waste of a company with great potential. Sad all around because they had such great dedicated staff.