Barneys New York sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday and announced plans to close stores on Chicago’s swanky Oak Street as well as locations in Las Vegas and Seattle over the next few weeks.
The specialty luxury retailer also will close five smaller concept stores and seven Barneys Warehouse locations, including one in Rosemont’s Fashion Outlets of Chicago. It will continue to operate five flagship stores and two warehouse stores, as well as its websites.
The filing had been expected.
“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," said Daniella Vitale, CEO and president, in a news release Tuesday.
Department stores have struggled to keep shoppers coming back amid the shift to online shopping.
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Barneys is far more upscale than the chains that have been closing hundreds of stores, like Sears, Macy’s and J.C. Penney. But even Barneys has new competition from high-end online fashion retailers like Net-a-Porter and Farfetch and luxury resale websites like The RealReal.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-barneys-bankruptcy-closing-chicago-20190806-sggodu56frdrbgo4qlhtu3cyye-story.html
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