Alabama Retail Association

Gold Retailers of the Year Own Homewood’s Oldest Business

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Additional photos from award ceremony provided upon request

BIRMINGHAM, AL – The Alabama Retail Association (ARA) in cooperation with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) today recognized nine outstanding Alabama retailers as “Retailers of the Year.” The presentations were made at The Club in Birmingham during the UAB School of Business’ 2009 Retail Day Luncheon. This marked the 10th presentation of the Retailer of the Year Awards since 1999.

Leo, J.L. and Ken Shaia of Shaia's of Homewood, an ARA member since 1992, received the Gold Award in the “Annual Sales $1 Million to $5 Million” category. shaiasalesteam Randy and Mary Adamy, owners of O’Henry’s Coffees Inc., and Tricia Ford, executive director of the Homewood Chamber of Commerce, nominated the Shaias for this prestigious award.

“When a customer walks into Shaia’s, he is greeted by a Shaia,” says Leo Shaia, one of the principals for the quality men’s shop, along with his brother, J.L., and the fourth generation in this family business, J.L’s son, Ken. Under the same name, in the same location, the Shaia family has operated a retail business for 87 years. The store even predates the city of Homewood. S.G. Shaia started the business in 1922 as a general store; in 1932, the founder’s son, A. J. Shaia, developed the enterprise into a junior department store; by the 1970s, under the guidance of the founder’s grandsons, Leo and J.L., the emphasis shifted to men’s and women’s clothing, eventually evolving into the store’s current focus, high quality men’s clothing, furnishings and shoes.

For the past five years, Shaia’s has been the only Alabama business named to Esquire Magazine’s “Best of Class” list for men’s stores. The store also has achieved Esquire’s “Gold Standard,” stores which “continuously raise the bar on what it means to be the best in the business.”

“The Shaia family has invested their lives in the community, and Homewood is fortunate to have not only their business leadership but their civic dedication,” Ford said in her nomination of the business.

Outside of the three family members, Shaia’s employs six other full-time workers. The Retailer of the Year judges cited the owners for their loyalty to that staff, along with the store’s national reputation, expanding Web presence and community contribution. In the midst of the “economic meltdown” of the past year, Leo Shaia said in the award entry, the business trimmed expenses “everywhere possible, with the exception of our employees.”

The Shaias also keep it fresh for their customers, regularly bringing designers and trunk shows to the store to entertain and educate their clientele.

The Shaias have driven “the city of Homewood to be the finest retail area in Birmingham and in the state,” the Adamys said in their nomination, noting the Shaias’ tendency to help recruit other retail businesses to the community. “Most of us, as retailers, have a hard time seeing outside the walls of our own business,” the Adamys said. The Shaias look “at the long term, big picture and what is best for the community.”

ARA President Rick Brown agreed. “Leo, J.L. and Ken Shaia are retailers of the year EVERY year to their employees and the Homewood community,” Brown said.

>> Previous Retailers of the Year

Photo Caption: From left, Leo and Ken Shaia in their Homewood store with their sales team, J.L. is at right.

Media Contact: Leo Shaia, Shaia’s | (205) 871-1312

Media Contact: Nancy Dennis | 334.263.5757, Ext. 101 | 800.239.5423 | 334.868.2195 (cell)

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Gold Retailers of the Year Own Homewood’s Oldest Business