Barneys could double its store footprint next year if a $271 million stalking-horse bid to acquire the luxury department store is approved in bankruptcy court next week.
Licensing firm Authentic Brands Group, whose $271 million offer was approved by Barneys lenders on Wednesday, plans to launch 41 Barneys stores inside of Saks stores across the US and Canada, according to sources with knowledge of the plans.
The new “Barneys at Saks” stores would not be small either — ranging in size from 10,000 to 50,000 square feet.
Barneys had 22 stores when it filed for bankruptcy protection on Aug. 6 and had announced plans to close 14 of its stores.
“The point is that Barneys will have many more locations than it’s had,” a source told The Post.
ABG, which owns 50 brands, including Frederick’s of Hollywood and Juicy Couture, also plans to open a new, free-standing Barneys in Greenwich, Conn., sources said. And it aims to maintain several existing Barneys stores, including its flagship Manhattan store on Madison Avenue — if it can renegotiate leases at those locations, sources said.
Saks Fifth Avenue, which has a licensing deal with ABG, could also convert some of its stores to Barneys, according to the sources.
Before moving forward with its plan, ABG’s $271 million offer needs to prove the top bid at next week’s bankruptcy auction. Barneys is hoping that trade show executive Sam Ben-Avraham will be able to beat ABG because his plan to acquire Barneys along with some existing stores would guarantee they remain open.
If ABG wins, it will keep Barneys’ top seven performing stores open through the holidays, sources say. ABG could also keep open Barneys’ flagship store on Madison Avenue, its store in Beverly Hills, and a Boston store if it can negotiate better lease terms with landlords.
ABG has already told the landlord at the Beverly Hills location that it would agree to pay the newly increased rent at that store, according to a source with knowledge of the discussions.