Syms CEO denies family eyed taking company private

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., July 10 - Syms Corp. chief executive officer Marcy Syms denied that her family had plans to take the company private when she addressed shareholders at the annual meeting on Thursday.

The full text of Syms' remarks was included in an 8-K filing with the Securities and Executive Commission.

According to Syms, some shareholders "misconstrued" the company's actions when it sought to begin trading on the pink sheets and deregister with the Securities and Exchange Commission, a decision Syms said was motivated "solely by a desire to save money."

"The costs of being an SEC-registered company have risen dramatically since the Sarbanes-Oxley Act became law, and the compliance costs disproportionately affect small companies such as Syms," said Syms.

Since then, Syms has reregistered with the SEC and its shares are traded on Nasdaq, the CEO noted.

Syms also touched on the company's real estate holdings, which include 50,000 vacant square feet available for rent and two owned locations Syms is trying to sell.

In addition, there are no plans to develop the building Syms recently purchased adjacent to its downtown Manhattan store.

Syms explained that "the price was right, and it only seemed prudent to complete these purchases as they give us greater control over our destiny downtown by preserving our options, and help protect our property from encroachment."

The purchase "by no means turns us into a real estate development company," added Syms.

Syms is a Secaucus, N.J.-based off-price retailer.

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