Rumormongering: Is Barneys Closing Stores?

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Barneys is considering closing two stores. The first would be their 85,000-square-foot location in Vegas, at the Shoppes at the Palazzo (of which they are an anchor tenant), and the second hadn't yet been disclosed. Citing people close to the matter who wanted to remain nameless, the article explained that "Barneys had expected to generate $6 million a month in sales at the store, but since last fall the company has eked out about a quarter of that."

Barneys, for their part, denies everything. In a press release sent out today, the luxury retailer states: "Contrary to the accounts appearing in today's press, we have no plans to close any of our flagship locations nor have we even engaged in any conversations with our landlords in that regard." And as the release points out, the company just opened a flagship in Chicago and a co-op in Philly—not exactly the behavior of a brand that's looking to slow growth.
· Barneys Seeks to Shutter Two Stores As Wealthy Consumers Cut Spending [WSJ]