Imagine throwing a party featuring great food and classy entertainment, but not being allowed to send out anything more than generic invitations. That’s akin to one of the challenges facing the head of retailer Syms Corporation (SYM 17), Marcy Syms.

Syms sells first-run brand-name merchandise at considerable discounts to retail, but is not allowed to advertise the names of the designers it carries. It’s a problem.

The retail landscape is cluttered these days, and especially with off-price opportunities. While Syms was early in the game, others have flooded into the space. Outlet malls have taken a good share of the thrifty consumer dollar, while online vendors such as Bluefly.com have further challenged the Syms selling model.

Still, Ms. Syms says she is confident her company offers the best value out there. “We have the largest selection of known names at the biggest discounts,” she says. “If consumers know clothing, they will give Syms a first look. We may not always have exactly what they had in mind, but we will have the best prices.”

Syms’s clothing — which is simultaneously offered in department stores at a normal markup of 115% from wholesale — is priced about 10% above wholesale. The company purchases clothing from the apparel makers, just as its fancier competitors do. “The companies know by the end of their selling season what has not been sold. We’re their last appointment, not the first,” Ms. Syms says.

In other words, Syms buys what others haven’t. As a result, it may not get the most popular colors or the hottest items of the season, but it does get top-quality merchandise, and pays less than wholesale prices. It is a tricky dance. The apparel manufacturers can’t afford to offend larger department store customers who, after all, are paying substantially higher prices. On the other hand, they want to get rid of product that already has been manufactured or ordered. Thus, the no-advertising arrangement.

“The educated consumer is our best customer,” Ms. Syms says in radio ads, as did her father before her. That may be true, but her best consumer is also the consumer with time on her hands. There is a certain “hit or miss” aspect to shopping at Syms that won’t appeal to the overly busy among us. That person might be happier surfing the Internet late at night in search of bargains or trolling outlet malls. However, as Ms. Syms points out, it is no secret that the outlets are increasingly selling goods manufactured expressly for those stores. Many are not selling the first-run merchandise offered by Syms.

During a recent visit to the Park Avenue Syms store, I saw bargains aplenty, some quite unexpected. For example, there was a bit of Lilly Pulitzer clothing for women, and even some high-end Vera Wang tops and bottoms at half price. Women’s dresses still feature the “automatic discount” Syms is famous for. On the ticket, the consumer can see the dates on which prices will drop, and can therefore take the chance of waiting before buying. According to Ms. Syms, ladies’ dresses are a loss leader.

Ms. Syms has been president and chief executive officer of her family’s company since 1998. She succeeded her father, Sy Syms, who founded the business in 1959. The company was privately owned until 1983 when the family sold a piece of the business to the public. The stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but 58% of the equity is still held by Ms. Syms and her father. Consequently, no analysts follow the stock.

The company had some rough times in the 1980s, when it expanded into a number of new markets. It didn’t want to offend the designers and department stores by being too visible, and so it opened single units in large cities. This strategy, which took the company to 47 stores, has now been abandoned.

Instead, Syms has joined other retailers, such as Starbucks, that “cluster” stores in a given location, taking advantage of the consequent economies of scale. In February, it closed stores in Pittsburgh and St. Louis, cutting costs and focusing its efforts on markets such as New York, where it has five stores, better name recognition, and, as a result, better profits.

Spearheaded by Ms. Syms, this retrenchment has taken the company to 34 stores. As in so many family companies, the transfer of power may not have been as seamless as a rearrangement of the organization chart might have suggested. Sy Syms still comes to the office most days, and he has lost none of his enthusiasm for the business. “My dad’s passion is Syms,” she says.

Nonetheless, though it may have taken a while, Ms. Syms appears to have her hand solidly on the tiller and the till. She has enabled the company to return to profitability by bringing down costs, while maintaining a pristine debt-free balance sheet. The stock has responded by climbing 19% in the past year (compared to 9% for the S&P 500.)

It hasn’t been easy. “My natural inclination is to say yes,” Ms. Syms says. “These days, I have to say no a lot. We needed to rethink processes — reevaluate every cost, including trucking, even waste disposal. I’ve had to tell everyone: ‘Every expense counts.'”

Syms also has to stay on top of manufacturers to be sure it is getting top goods. “We’re always negotiating for first-quality merchandise. If we get something less, we note it on the ticket. We recently received some kids’ jackets that had zippers that got stuck. There was too much fabric; it was a design flaw. It was very hurtful — not every buyer knew they could bring it back.”

Still, the business seems to be heading in the right direction. Other than a “Finance for Non-financial People” course she took at Wharton, Ms. Syms attributes her management know-how to her liberal arts education. She was an English major at Finch College. “Almost every deal and business relationship is like a novel: It has a plot, a climax, and character development. When is someone acting out of character? Why are they out of character?”

What’s for certain is that Ms. Syms is working on a happy ending.

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