After nearly 130 years in business, Schwabe-May is closing on May 17, owner Lynne Schwabe said.

"I'm very sad," she said Wednesday. "The business has been with some part of the Schwabe family since the 1880s. I'm very sad for our employees and very sad for our loyal customers."

The changing retail habits of customers and Schwabe's personal issues have made the closure necessary, she said.

Gallery

[+] Enlarge

Chris Dorst

Lynne Schwabe, owner of the clothing shop Schwabe-May, is closing the store on May 17, after nearly 130 years in business. Changing retail habits and personal issues have contributed to the closure, Schwabe said.

Buy This Photo

Schwabe has been taking care of older relatives and was diagnosed with breast cancer in December.

"I had taken on far too much," she said. "It was a wake-up call."

Plus, people are just buying differently, she said.

"Retailing everywhere is having a very tough time," she said. "I don't know how long physical stores are going to be with us."

In March, clothing and clothing accessories stores' sales nationwide decreased 0.5 percent from February and 2 percent from 2007, according to the National Retail Federation. Overall, the retail industry sales for March dropped 0.9 percent from last year and were down 0.3 percent from February.

Schwabe-May started in downtown Charleston in 1880, founded by Albert Schwabe and his cousin Isadore May. It moved to Charleston Town Center in 1983, when the mall opened. In August 2006, the store returned downtown to its current 221 Capitol St. location.

Lynne Schwabe first came to work with Schwabe-May in 1972 when she married her ex-husband, Albert Schwabe II, the grandson of the original owner.

"I found that I loved retail and that I had a real aptitude for it," she said.

Soon, she helped develop the women's line in what was originally an all-men's clothier, she said.

"One Christmas, we starting carrying Givenchy [women's] sweaters. We sold every single one," she said. "It was a huge success."

The store stopped selling men's clothes in 2000.

She continued to work at the store after Albert and she divorced in 1990, but was eventually fired, she said.

She then moved to Virginia and started a marketing career, using her retail skills with business clients, she said.

After nearly 130 years in business, Schwabe-May is closing on May 17, owner Lynne Schwabe said.

"I'm very sad," she said Wednesday. "The business has been with some part of the Schwabe family since the 1880s. I'm very sad for our employees and very sad for our loyal customers."

The changing retail habits of customers and Schwabe's personal issues have made the closure necessary, she said.

"Personally, I've had a very tough year," she said.

Schwabe has been taking care of older relatives and was diagnosed with breast cancer in December.

"I had taken on far too much," she said. "It was a wake-up call."

Plus, people are just buying differently, she said.

"Retailing everywhere is having a very tough time," she said. "I don't know how long physical stores are going to be with us."

In March, clothing and clothing accessories stores' sales nationwide decreased 0.5 percent from February and 2 percent from 2007, according to the National Retail Federation. Overall, the retail industry sales for March dropped 0.9 percent from last year and were down 0.3 percent from February.

Schwabe-May started in downtown Charleston in 1880, founded by Albert Schwabe and his cousin Isadore May. It moved to Charleston Town Center in 1983, when the mall opened. In August 2006, the store returned downtown to its current 221 Capitol St. location.

Lynne Schwabe first came to work with Schwabe-May in 1972 when she married her ex-husband, Albert Schwabe II, the grandson of the original owner.

"I found that I loved retail and that I had a real aptitude for it," she said.

Soon, she helped develop the women's line in what was originally an all-men's clothier, she said.

"One Christmas, we starting carrying Givenchy [women's] sweaters. We sold every single one," she said. "It was a huge success."

The store stopped selling men's clothes in 2000.

She continued to work at the store after Albert and she divorced in 1990, but was eventually fired, she said.

She then moved to Virginia and started a marketing career, using her retail skills with business clients, she said.

"'Look,' I would tell them, 'I sold clothes to wealthy, well-traveled, well-educated, attractive women. They know what they want. If I can sell to them, I can sell to anybody.'"

In 2002, when Albert II decided to retire, Lynne Schwabe bought the store with the intention of running the shop with her stepdaughter, whom Lynne had raised from childhood.

The stepdaughter lasted a year, Schwabe said. "The fashion business ... it's a lot of grimy, hard, dirty work."

Schwabe then became the sole owner

In late March 2007, Schwabe-May filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, claiming $1.1 million in liabilities and $217,482 in assets.

"We're really confident we're going to be fine," Schwabe told the Gazette in 2007. "We're committed to seeing this through.

"We recognize our customer has changed and we recognize that we haven't changed quickly enough," she said in 2007.

Those changes included setting up a Web site, www.schwabemay.com, which was still online on Wednesday.

One of the Web site and store's features, which she hopes to continue despite closing the shop, is the "magic wardrobe," which suggests the must-haves for a customer's closet, she said.

While the shop officially closes on May 17, Schwabe will still be in the store May 19-21, selling off clothing racks, hangers and other store accessories.

The store's three sales clerks and two alteration employees have been informed about the closing for a while, she said.

Schwabe wants to continue to personally shop for customers, picking out merchandize to match their body types and preferences, she said.

For now, when and how she is going to do that is unknown, as she finishes up radiation treatments, she said.

"I want to continue to serve our customers, but I need to have a rest," she said.

To contact Lynne Schwabe, call the store at 347-4500.

To contact staff writer Sarah K. Winn, use e-mail or call 348-5156.