Back in August, luxury department-store chain Barneys officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Even though the company needed to shut down 15 out of its 22 stores as a result, it announced through an Instagram campaign that “Barneys is here to stay.” There may be truth in that statement, as the company is close to securing a $270 million USD deal with Authentic Brands, parent company of Volcom, Aéropostale and more.
According to The Fashion Law and Reuters, the multi-faceted deal would require Barneys to keep a few retail stores open, including its flagship store in Manhattan, as well as its Beverly Hills location.
In addition, if the deal between Barneys and Authentic Brands actually does go through, Authentic Brands is reportedly planning to license the Barneys name to Saks Fifth Avenue‘s owner Hudson’s Bay Co. If Authentic Brands ends up trading Barneys trademark rights to Hudson’s Bay Co., Saks Fifth Avenue would legally be able to use any of Barneys’ trademarks on certain products for a set period of time. According to The Wall Street Journal, Saks is already “in discussions to open Barneys departments in some of its stores and take over Barneys’ website.” In return, Authentic Brands would likely see reoccurring royalties from sales.
Nothing has been confirmed yet surrounding the deal, as all parties involved have declined to comment. Stay tuned as more information arises, likely following Barneys’ bankruptcy-court auction later this month.
Elsewhere in business news, WeWork plans to cut 2,000 employees following its IPO disaster.
