Steve & Barry's Rules The Mall

Steven Shore and Barry Prevor love to fill a void -- about 3.5 million square feet of it. That's how much space Steve & Barry's University Sportswear took in U.S. shopping centers last year, the most of any mall-based chain.

The co-CEOs soaked up that space by opening 62 supermarket-size stores, almost doubling their outlets in one year, to 134. The privately held chain, which lures shoppers with casual clothing priced at $7.98 or less -- a 40% discount to prices at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT ) and Target Corp. (TGT ) -- plans to operate more than 200 stores by yearend. The key to the rapid growth: a highly opportunistic business model that relies on aggressive incentives from mall owners, creative apparel sourcing, and virtually no advertising. "They are the most talked-about retailer in the mall industry," says Norman Peters, senior vice-president for real estate at Cafaro Co., a Youngstown (Ohio) mall owner. "They're on everyone's list [of preferred tenants]."