Thor Equities - Ashley Stewart

Ashley Stewart

From Sitt’s early realization of the retail gap that left broad swathes of inner city consumers largely underserved by major retailers, Sitt founded Ashley Stewart (a name inspired by Laura Ashley and Martha Stewart) in 1991 which sold modern and fashionable plus-size clothing to African American women.

Each Ashley Stewart store hired from within the community and the company was recognized by President Clinton for its large contribution to the nation’s innovative Welfare to Work program. Ashley Stewart quickly grew to over 380 stores in more than 100 cities which prompted many national retailers to follow suit and helped change the urban retail landscape. Sitt was also partial owner and managed the Children’s Place kids clothing chain, as well as Marianne Stores, a retail outlet specializing in clothing for Latina women.

As business boomed, Sitt sold his interest in 2000 to concentrate on urban real estate through his company Thor Equities.

In 2004, Sitt was profiled by Crains in its annual "40 Under 40" article, which reported that he had a 6,000,000-square-foot (560,000 m2) portfolio worth nearly $750 million.