Barneys Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Barneys New York filed for bankruptcy in the early hours Tuesday, sunk by the soaring costs and shifts in the luxury market. The 96-year-old luxury retailer filed for Chapter 11 protection in the Southern District of New York, listing both assets between $100 million and $500 million. The filing capped off months of speculation over the retailer’s troubled finances after a big rent at its Madison Avenue flagship nearly doubled to $30 million and vendor bills piled up. The company is being represented by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, whose attorneys have also advised on the high profile retail bankruptcies of Toys R Us, Payless ShoeSource Inc. and The Gymboree Corp. The luxe retailer said it has over 5,000 creditors including Jenel Management, which is owed $6 million; the Row ($3.7 million), Celine Inc. ($2.7 million), Thor Equities ($2.2 million), Yves Saint Laurent America Inc. ($2.2 million), Balanciaga America Inc. ($2.1 million) and many more. Barneys said it has sales of about $800 million, 2,300 employees and about $200 million in funded debt obligations. The company  said it was “actively evaluating opportunities to strengthen our balance sheet” earlier last month. And while that included searching for a new investor or another way to restructure, industry

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