It's only a matter of time before the legacy Stage Stores (SSI) business comes to an end. Under nameplates like Stage, Bealls, and Peebles, Stage Stores has focused on small-town brick-and-mortar retailing. Per the 10-K, 61% of its 795 stores (at the end of fiscal 2018, which ended February 3) have less than 50,000 people within a ten-mile radius. Another 24% have fewer than 150,000 people within the same distance.
For years, that business was solid, as Stage's locations provided rural customers with name-brand merchandise they couldn't get elsewhere without traveling greater