Barneys New York in trouble, on the brink of bankruptcy: report, photos

Bankruptcy is not just about shoe stores and fast fashion retailers. Today, it is also a luxury business problem.

Barneys – the upscale department store known for its designer offerings – would consider bankruptcy among its options to restructure its business and avoid joining a burgeoning cemetery.

The New York-based retailer serves a clientele that is attentive to luxury. It has only 28 stores located in centers like Boston and Beverly Hills.

Read more: We visited a Hollister flagship store that is closing soon and understood why the brand needed a new strategy.

Madison Avenue Barneys is about one-third of the company's revenue, the New York Times reported on Thursday. But with discussions on the annual 275,000-square-foot rent from $ 16 million to $ 30 million, the store could become unsustainable.

"At Barneys New York, our customers remain our top priority and we are committed to providing them with the excellent services, products and experiences they expect, and we continue to work closely with all of our business partners to achieve Indeed, our board of directors and management are actively evaluating opportunities to strengthen our balance sheet and ensure the long-term, sustainable growth of our business, "said a spokesman for Barneys in a statement to Business Insider. .

"At the same time, we continue to evolve our strategy and business model for the benefit of all our partners through our forward-thinking and particularly modern approach, as evidenced by our announced store openings at American Dream in New Jersey and Bal Harbor, stores in Miami Beach, our new store in Las Vegas, Freds at Barneys New York arriving at Copley Place in Boston, the launch of our luxury concept store on lifestyle and wellness. be cannabis as well as various projects of installation of ephemeral suppliers and suppliers. "

We visited Madison Avenue's Barneys to see why it may be the last retailer to declare bankruptcy. We found that Barneys was losing valuable space in its exhibition halls with elaborate rest areas and almost empty lockers.

Here is what we saw: