Barneys New York Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Barneys

Burkle Angles for Controlling Stake in Barneys (WSJ)
“Billionaire Ronald Burkle is angling to take a controlling stake in Barneys New York, people familiar with the situation said, a bet that the company and battered luxury retail sector have seen the worst of the recession.”

Bloomingdale’s opens in Dubai (The National)
“From today, people in Dubai will be able to indulge in the magic of Bloomingdale’s as the American department store ventures outside the US for the first time in its 138-year history.”

Versace’s New Look (WSJ)
“At the House of Versace, Donatella is back in the saddle again. She now signs off on every leather bag, dinner plate and evening gown… With the House of Versace facing the toughest times since it flirted with bankruptcy in 2004, the family must now steer the company through the current crisis in luxury goods.”

Fluff flies as fashion writers pick a cat fight with bloggers (Independent)
“Enthusiasm has waned for bloggers such as Tavi Gevinson, the 13-year-old wunderkind who waltzed into the front row of the biggest catwalk shows, as former fans complain bloggers have been ‘bought off’ by the industry.”

Davos 2010: Gucci boss on the rise of the shrewd customer (BBC)
“Robert Polet, boss of Gucci group has said he has seen a shift in the way customers are approaching the purchase of luxury good… ‘People want to know does the promise you give as a brand really stands up’.”

Bottega Veneta Cabat bag, courtesy of Bottega Veneta

Accessories After the Fact (WSJ Magazine)
“It’s been a brutal year for the arbiters of all things luxurious. World-wide accessories sales, the engine driving the explosive growth of the luxury-goods industry over the past decade, are projected to decline 10 percent in 2009, according to Bain & Co., the first real decline since Bain began tracking the sector in 1995.”

Former Barneys CEO Watches Shows and Luxury Goods Meltdown (WSJ)
“As for whether the luxury market, the hardest hit sector in retail, will ever recover, especially after mass discounting last winter has trained high-end consumers to wait for sales, Mr. Socol said ‘I think it will take time. It’s a combination of the economy, people’s retirement funds, people’s incomes and then it’s attitude. This has been kind of a wake-up call. I think designers will try to produce things at better value. That’s a good thing.’”

Young Bloggers Have Ear of Fashion Heavyweights (New York Times)
“At first glance, Dirrty Glam resembles any trendy online magazine. It features famous faces like Lilly Allen and Sienna Miller on its cover, and combines fashion, film and music reviews with celebrity interviews. There is just one thing: Dirrty Glam’s entire team, from editor in chief to public relations manager, is between 19 and 22 years old.”

Surely newspapers know what they are talking about? Right? (Liberty London Girl)
“The Wall Street Journal (on Friday) and The New York Times (Sunday) ran stories on fashion bloggers, both of which made glaring factual errors. Both newspapers are known to have rigorous fact checking policies. So how could such basic mistakes have been made?”

Some Vision Correction Needed (New York Times)
“Looking at men’s wear collections for very long is like having your eyes examined. After seeing too many navy schoolboy blazers and high-water pants and skinny jeans, you begin to question your ability to say with certainty whether the image on one runway is better, worse or about the same as any other.”

François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek

The new king of luxury (Fortune)
“Since taking the reins of one of the world’s biggest fashion empires, François-Henri Pinault has put his stamp on Gucci, YSL, and Puma. Now the luxury business is putting him to the test.”

Barneys Said to Weigh Debt Swap Amid Buying Interest (Bloomberg)
“Barneys New York is weighing a debt restructuring or bankruptcy filing that may wrest control from the Dubai government-owned firm …Hedge fund Perry Capital LLC, has been approached by Holt Renfrew, the Toronto-based department-store chain, about a joint offer for control of the 86-year-old luxury retailer, one of the people said.”

Escada needs to find buyer by early November-source (Reuters)
“Insolvent luxury fashion house Escada  has to find a buyer by early November because its financing will run out by December at the latest, a person close to the situation told Reuters.”

Samsonite Unit Seeks Chapter 11 (Wall Street Journal)
“The U.S. retail unit of luggage maker Samsonite Corp. has filed for bankruptcy-court protection with the goal of cutting its store count in half in a bid to boost earnings.”

Fashion Diary: Norma Kamali reinvents the runway (Los Angeles Times)
“Not only is the economy a challenge, so is the Internet. The speed with which photos of runway looks travel around the world is making the whole seasonal exercise of fashion weeks seem more and more ridiculous. So it’s no surprise that designers are rethinking how they can use the Internet to their advantage, including Norma Kamali, whose presentation titled “The Democratization of Fashion” will be held on Sept. 17 at the Soho Apple store.”

New Gucci store concept, courtesy of Gucci

Gucci Renews GG-Logo Purses Priced Below $3,000 Under New Chief (Bloomberg)
As reported late last year on BoF, “Gucci’s new chief executive officer, Patrizio di Marco, said he’s fighting the recession by cutting production, making fewer styles to reduce costs, and bulking up the luxury label’s mid-priced range.”

Lengthy Search for New CEO Dogs Barneys (WSJ)
“Barneys has spent more than a year without filling its top slot, an unusually long time for a CEO hire and one of the longest-running hunts for a new chief executive now going on anywhere.”

Tough Times for Small Luxury Goods Makers (Business Week)
“Bankruptcies are hitting small and midsize European companies that supply luxury houses with everything from hand-tooled leather to perfume bottles.”

Samsonite joins list of debt-for-equity groups (FT)
“Samsonite, the world’s biggest maker of suitcases, backpacks and carry-bags, is the latest to join the fast-growing list of private equity-owned companies that have run into trouble and needed to be saved by swapping debt for equity.”

Giles Deacon to quadruple sales (Drapers)
Giles Deacon has announced a business partnership with Castor Srl which will help him to achieve the business aspirations he first mentioned to us in our Inside the Studio video series in February. (Watch video here)

EBay May Sell More Luxury Goods Under Draft EU Rules (Bloomberg)
“EBay Inc.’s traders may have fewer restrictions on selling luxury goods under European Union regulators’ plans to break down barriers to Internet sales.”

April clothing sales strongest since 2006 (Drapers)
“Retail like-for-like sales rose 4.6% in April, with clothing showing the strongest growth since late 2006, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).”

Barneys aiming to close 2 stores (Reuters)
“As the impact of the global recession weighs in on wealthy Americans, high-end retailer Barneys New York Inc aims to close two of its seven department stores, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.”

White House Correspondents’ Dinner: Glamour Is Back! (Huffington Post)
Donatella Versace writes her first blog entry on the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

Oscar fashions give no hint of the weak economy (Newsday)
Despite tough times, no one was slumming it at the Oscars.

Factors Drop Barneys Over Sale Uncertainty (WWD)
Factors are no longer approving spring orders from Barneys over its uncertain future. (Subscription required)

London’s ‘cool girl’ starts growing up (IHT)
The perpetual focus on an ever-renewing young generation seems to be the mark of British fashion: always the hip chick, never the adult. But there are signs this London autumn 2009 season that the role model is growing up,” reports IHT.

J. Crew’s Madewell Launching Stores (WWD)
Despite the economy, J.Crew’s Madewell will open more stores. (Subscription required)

News has been trickling in all week about confusion around the strategic direction being taken by Barneys and today, the New York Times is reporting that its highly respected CEO Howard Socol will resign next week. This is an abrupt change of tone in the buzz around Barneys, which is arguably the most influential and forward thinking luxury and fashion department store chain in America today.

Bergdorf Goodman, of course is a venerable store in its own right, but it only has one location in New York and  its sister company, Neiman Marcus, based in Dallas, is far removed from the New York fashion hub. Yes, Neimans serves an unequaled luxury customer, but it just does not have the fashion cred that Barneys has managed to build in recent years.  Barneys’ affable Fashion Director, Julie Gilhart, has been a champion of emerging talent and amongst others, is credited with recognising the talent of the Proenza Schouler boys, buying their graduate collection from Parsons.

But, is Barneys about to become a basket case?

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Everyone’s talking about London’s young designer set — and the news is not good.

The media has been buzzing about the wave of  familiar faces who will be missing from the front rows this season. Julie Gilhart, Ron Frasch, and Ken Downing won’t be making it to London Fashion Week this season to represent major American department stores Barneys, Saks and Neiman Marcus, respectively. For Julie, a fervent supporter of London’s emerging brands, it is the first time in 20 years that she won’t be here.

These buyers have told the press that unless London’s designers produce something very special or have strong existing relationships with US retailers, they will have a hard time making up for the spiralling effect that the strong pound has had on their prices once converted to American dollars.

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