By Ilana Siyance
The once iconic high-end fashion retailer has shuttered its doors for the final time.
Barneys New York, established in 1923, has officially closed operations on Sunday, February 23rd at its flagship store on Madison Avenue, its Chelsea location and its outlet at Woodbury Common in Central Valley. As reported by NBC NY, throughout the three locations , over 700 employees were slated to lose their jobs. Barney’s other remaining locations outside of NY were also closed simultaneously, including the stores in San Francisco and Beverly Hills, California. Barneys has undergone a slow and agonizing months-long going-out-of-business sale, but it is finally over.
Last November, amid bankruptcy woes, the 97-year-old luxury brand was purchased by fashion licensing company Authentic Brands Group and financial firm B. Riley for $271.4 million. Last year, Authentic Brands had announced that it planned to convert the Madison Avenue store into a centralized spot for pop-up businesses, fusing together a collection of boutiques as well as art and cultural exhibits and entertainment. Authentic Brands, which holds a massive portfolio of more than 50 brands, said it will license the Barney’s New York name to Saks Fifth Avenue with plans for “preserving the legacy of Barneys New York while positioning it for long term growth through key partnerships that will expand its global presence as a lifestyle brand and luxury retail experience”, as per a company press release.
ABG will recreate the Barneys New York brand on Saks Fifth Avenue’s fifth floor in Saks’ newly renovated flagship store. Saks will in the future also unveil Barneys New York shops in several other stores in well-preforming markets across the United States and Canada, as per the Associated Press. Saks, which has been owned since 2013 by the oldest commercial corporation in North America, the Hudson’s Bay Company, will also have exclusive rights to the Barneys NY name as an ecommerce partner on both Barneys.com and BarneysWarehouse.com. Already, the Barney’s websites are redirecting to Saks webpages entitled Barneys-at-Saks, offering high-end brand names for sale.
ABG had said it is excited to partner with the Saks Fifth Avenue management team to learn what clients of the legendary trend-setting store had loved about Barneys, and to give new life to that evolving it into something truly relevant to today’s luxury shoppers.
The acquisition of Barneys still maintains the licensing agreement between Barneys New York and Seven & i Holdings, which will continue to operate 12 Barneys New York retail stores in Japan without interruption or change of ownership.
