Could Barneys be saved from bankruptcy by online retailer?
Has Barneys found a buyer to rescue it from bankruptcy?
The struggling retailer, which filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 6, has been in talks with London-based online fashion seller Farfetch, The New York Post reported.
Barneys, with its iconic Manhattan flagship store, announced plans to close half of its 10 signature stores plus five concept stores and seven of its nine Barneys Warehouse stores as it sought a buyer.
Farfetch has been in negotiations with Barneys since before the Chapter 11 filing, but talks have been getting more serious recently, according to the report.
However, Farfetch denied the report in a brief statement posted on its website.
“The story is incorrect — Farfetch is not acquiring Barneys New York,” the company said.
Rent at Barneys’ Madison Avenue store nearly doubled from about $16 million to $30 million this year. Barneys has said it would keep that location through its bankruptcy.
This July 16, 2019 photo shows the Barneys department store in New York. The luxury retailer could be joining a growing list of retailers that have filed for bankruptcy. Barneys New York is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the latest reta (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
The Post reported the Madison Avenue location’s landlord, Ashkenazy Acquisition, has tentatively agreed to lower the store’s rent and take back some of the space. If Farfetch did buy the company, it would keep only that flagship store and its Beverly Hills store open, according to the report.
Farfetch went public last year. It sells luxury fashion items from brands like Balenciaga, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. It announced in June that it joined the Facebook-backed Libra Association, saying it believes blockchain technology could hold applications in the fashion industry.
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