I say we all chip in 
From New York Times:
From New York Times:
To Sell Barneys, Sure, the Price Must Be Right, but Also the Fit
By TRACIE ROZHON
On "Sex and the City,'' it was one of Carrie's favorite stores. But will that be enough to bring in lots of bidders for Barneys New York, now that it is on the block?
Barneys, once famous as much for its hauteur as for its near-haute couture, has been through tough times. It was brought out of bankruptcy protection in 1999 by two investor groups, Whippoorwill Associates and Bay Harbour Management, which paid about $240 million for a majority stake in the luxury fashion retailer, which has its Manhattan flagship store on Madison Avenue at 60th Street.
But with Barneys rebounding along with the luxury market - and May Department Stores' purchase of Marshall Field's this spring for $3.2 billion setting a rich value on brand name retailers - Barneys's investors say that now is the time to get their money back, and more.
The owners, according to industry officials involved in assessing the company's worth, expect it to go for at least $400 million, a sum that represents its current value on the Nasdaq market, plus about $100 million in debt the new owners would be expected to assume.
Whippoorwill and Bay Harbour, though, are hoping to see bidders looking to build on a Barneys revival push the price up to $500 million or so.
"The brand must be very strong,'' said Howard Socol, who has run the store for five years. "If it could take a punch like it did in the 90's and come back, the opportunity now will be very special.''
The challenge, retail insiders say, is finding the right fit: a buyer who believes in Barneys's potential to grow nationally, in its ability to stay on the forward edge of fashion, and in the continued escalation of the luxury market.
Whoever buys Barneys New York - which fell apart after the descendents of its founder, Barney Pressman, overexpanded and overspent on the Madison Avenue showplace - would get a company that attracts affluent shoppers not just to Madison Avenue but also to premium stores in Chicago and Beverly Hills, Calif., as well as smaller, less successful locations in Seattle, Manhasset, N.Y., and Chestnut Hill outside Boston.
Barneys also has three Co-op stores aimed at a younger crowd, two in Lower Manhattan and one in Miami - as well as 11 discount outlets.
Many think another luxury retailing concern is the best answer for Barneys.
"It has to be a culture match,'' said Joseph Abboud, the menswear designer. "A Neiman Marcus would be perfect; Saks might want to expand. A Tiffany or Cartier, or an LVMH. But I'd say a strategic investor, like another retailer.''
Other insiders point to Federated Department Stores, which opted out of the Marshall Field's bidding war, and is said to have millions in cash.
None of the companies would comment on Barneys, but a spokesman for LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, while declining to speak specifically about Barneys, said that LVMH was focusing primarily on expanding its existing labels.
Other experts say that Barneys may not be a good fit for another retailer or a maker of luxury goods.
"It will be a financial buyer, an equity group,'' said Emanuel Weintraub, a retail management consultant. Barneys is "a niche story,'' he added.
Among those who might fit that bill, industry experts said, are Philip B. Miller, the former chief executive of Saks Fifth Avenue, who is now an executive in an equity firm, and Peter Rizzo, a former Bergdorf Goodman executive who now heads IC Isaacs, the parent of Girbaud jeans. Neither man returned calls seeking comment.
Moreover, Mr. Weintraub cautioned: "Just the fact that it's being offered doesn't mean it will be sold. I don't think it's going to be an easy sale.''
Still, there are plenty of rich investors looking for a chance to make money by acquiring a prominent name.
"There's a ton of money looking for a place to go, if it makes sense,'' said Barry Kieselstein-Cord, the jewelry and accessories designer, who expressed interest in buying the store, along with an equity group.
"It's a lot of money for just an ego purchase, a trophy,'' Mr. Kieselstein-Cord said. "You have to make it workable, but it's workable.''
In anticipation of a sale, the stock price has risen significantly, from around $12 a share at the end of May to $20.69 yesterday, down 31 cents. The stock was worth about $5 a share a year ago.
Mr. Socol, the current Barneys chief executive, said that potential buyers should be particularly interested in the opportunity to expand the company's Co-op concept, which is aimed at younger consumers, including teenagers. Co-op is also much cheaper than Barneys, which sells designers like Dolce & Gabbana and Giorgio Armani.
Co-op, Mr. Socol said, has only three stores, but before next summer, there will be four more: on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, on the North Side of Chicago, in Atlanta and in Costa Mesa, Calif. The management is not shy in saying the concept is even more expandable.
"If you look at some of the brands we carry there - Juicy Couture, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Theory, Dries van Noten and Diane von Furstenberg - they are all growing,'' Mr. Socol said.
Barneys is also moving to revitalize its Manhattan flagship. Management moved the popular Chelsea Passage, which may have been looking a little faded, to a huge new home on the ninth floor, which was created partly by opening back-office space. The second floor is being torn up, to make another floor for new and expanded designer boutiques.
Mr. Socol dismissed those who grumble that Barneys has lost some of its edge, pointing out that some of the biggest names in fashion still sell exclusively in the United States through the store.
"We wouldn't be spending money like this if we didn't think this was a terrific concept,'' Mr. Socol said. "We know it's expandable. Lanvin would not be here. Or Balenciaga. Or Goyard. If it wasn't still 'the place,' they wouldn't still be there.''
But some outsiders say that Barneys no longer holds the same place in the fashionistas' hearts as it used to. Mr. Socol concedes that other luxury emporia, especially Bergdorf Goodman, may have diluted its franchise by improving their contemporary and couture designer offerings.
That may not be so bad, given Barneys reputation.
"In the height of retail arrogance, Barneys was king,'' Mr. Abboud said. When the rage for black clothing was in, "some columnist reported asking, 'Don't you have anything that's not black?' And a sales clerk replied, somewhat haughtily: 'Well, madame, I suppose we might have a few pieces in gray.' "
Those days are gone, Mr. Socol said, and good riddance to them.
"We have worked very hard not to be part of that scene,'' he said. "There are a number of ways to increase sales, and one of the best is to treat people better when they walk in, to give them a great big smile. We do not have that attitude now - I think the word 'arrogance' was used in the past - if we ever did.''
And Barneys still has plenty of fans among the glamorous crowd.
"I go once a week and see really cool women there,'' said Mr. Kieselstein-Cord, who has a jewelry boutique at Bergdorf's. "I go to Bergdorf's and I love my own clients there but I can't help being a little jealous - my wife and daughter both shop at Barneys.''
B)
B)
