Jamie Salter, the chairman and chief executive officer of Authentic Brands Group, has Barneys New York on his mind.
Sources tell WWD that Salter has been probing the possibility of reviving Barneys on Madison Avenue — in the same location where the luxury retailer operated its flagship until its 2019 bankruptcy, a process the opened up the door for Authentic to buy the company.
One source said, “There have been a few conversations happening with the landlord, about that space in particular.”
Authentic would have to find an operator for Barneys on Madison Avenue. “That search is happening,” the source said.
Saks Fifth Avenue had the exclusive rights for retailing Barneys in the U.S., but those rights have been released due to the bankruptcy of Saks Global in January.
Separate from reviving Barneys on Madison Avenue, Authentic is said to be planning a small store Barneys concept in the U.S., but the location could not be learned.
Authentic declined comment on Barneys.
The 220,000-square-foot flagship site, at 660 Madison Avenue, has been vacant ever since the store closed, except for some temporary uses including the Winter Show for antiques in 2022 and the Louis Vuitton “200 Trunks, 200 Visionaries” exhibit later that year. There was also a “Sex in the City” reunion at the space, among other events.
Authentic paid $271.4 million to buy Barneys and licensed the name to Saks Fifth Avenue, which operated a “Barneys at Saks” department on the fifth floor of the Saks flagship in Manhattan and a Barneys shop in Greenwich, Conn. There are also licensed Barneys stores in Japan.
According to one source, Salter has communicated with Richard Cohen, former CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna, to possibly run a revived Barneys. The source also said that Salter has communicated with the key owner of the Madison Avenue property, real estate investor Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., to lease the site, and reportedly offered a deal involving a percentage of sales, but the source said Ashkenazy balked at the offer.
Barneys went bankrupt due to an enormous spike in rent on Madison Avenue, as well as its expansion into locations where the market for its unique brand of upscale fashion was insufficient.
But many upscale shoppers, particularly New Yorkers, still speak fondly of Barneys, wishing it would return to Madison Avenue, bringing back its designer offerings, sense of discovery and Fred’s restaurant, which became a place to see and be seen, while also serving a sophisticated cuisine.
A Barneys return to Madison would be well received.
