RETAIL
Barneys to Close 6 California Stores
Store closings for the luxe retailer Barneys New York have hit California. After much media and fashion-world anticipation, Barneys declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 6.
Later that day, it secured $218 million in new capital from Brigade Capital Management, LP and B. Riley Financial, Inc. This lifeline replaced an earlier capital offer of $75 million from affiliates of Hilco Global and the Gordon Brothers Group, which was made earlier on Aug. 6. Despite the new cash, Barneys said that it was closing a number of stores, including around six in California. These include locations at Desert Hills Premium Outlets, Camarillo Premium Outlets, Carlsbad Premium Outlets, as well as full-price stores at The Grove in Los Angeles, The Americana at Brand in Glendale, Calif., and Santa Monica Place in Santa Monica, Calif. These stores closed on Aug. 6, when the bankruptcy announcement was made.
The shuttered full-price stores were formerly locations for the now defunct Barneys Co-Op shops the retailer operated. California stores remaining open will be the Beverly Hills and San Francisco locations and an outlet store in Livermore, Calif.
Skyrocketing rents hurt Barneys, Daniella Vitale, Barneys chief executive officer and president, said.
“Like many in our industry, Barneys New York’s financial position has been dramatically impacted by the challenging retail environment and rent structures that are excessively high relative to market demand,” she said in a statement.
Barneys has long been celebrated in pop culture, most notably in the 1990s HBO series “Sex and the City.” The retailer was lauded for being a place that followed its own style muse and would offer a number of critically acclaimed designers such as Yohji Yamamoto, Rick Owens, Prabul Gurung and Isabel Marant.
