Barneys New York, an iconic store, will officially be going out of business. There have been rumors of this possibility for months, and recently, it has seemed more and more likely since its bankruptcy filing in August. The store began the process of liquidating the merchandise. It had just been waiting for the bankruptcy deal to close before doing so.

The Official Press Release

At the beginning of November, Barneys New York issued a press release outlining its plans for liquidation. Barneys’ brands closed a deal on November 1 with Authentic Brands Group, selling the latter its brands and intellectual property. This had been approved by a bankruptcy judge the previous day.

The Liquidation Process

The process of liquidating merchandise for Barneys New York began about a week after the initial press release, starting with the company’s customers that were the most loyal. The liquidation is being conducted by B. Riley Financial. Closing sales were declared for the flagship locations on Madison Avenue and Chelsea, Manhattan in New York, Beverley Hills, San Francisco, and Copley Place. Sales at Barneys Warehouse stores were also announced.

There was not any specification about when these closing sales would begin and which stores would have them. At the same time, the flagship location on Madison Avenue will stay open but with significantly fewer items, at least for a year. This will occur as the brand negotiates with the landlord.

During the process, Fred’s, the eatery from the store, will stay open.

The Next Year

Daniel Levy, the president of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., the landlord of the Madison Avenue flagship location, indicated that they have come to an agreement with Authentic Brands Group for the following 12 months. The two companies are still working on negotiations for longer-term solutions.

Future Plans

As mentioned, Authentic Brands Group is the new owner of Barneys New York. The company bid about $271 million to buy Barneys and plans to turn the company’s Madison Avenue storefront into a pop-up store. The store will have four floors with cultural and art installations as well as boutiques. It will also feature entertainment to encourage “creativity and community.”

Authentic Brands Group will also license Barneys’ brand to Saks Fifth Avenue, opening shops in locations of Saks throughout the United States and Canada. It will also try to reboot Barneys on Saks Fifth Avenue’s Manhattan location, on the fifth floor. This will most likely be the only Barneys’ location to stay open.

Sources:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/01/barneys-madison-avenue-store-to-remain-open-for-at-least-a-year.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/01/business/barneys-bankruptcy-authentic-brands.html

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