A Shoemaker Gets a Makeover

Things were not looking good for R.G. Barry Corp., and that was before the plant manager was taken hostage. The $125 million company in Pickerington, Ohio, has been making Dearfoams slippers--sold mostly in department stores like J.C. Penney, Sears and Wal-Mart--since 1947. With the son of a founder presiding as chairman for 40 years, the company peaked in the mid-'90s with sales of $150 million and its stock price at $25. By mid-2003, Barry had lost $20 million, sales were plummeting, its stock was at $2.08, and it was in default on a $10 million loan from its longtime lender, Huntington...