New York Post - 27.08.2019

New York Post, Tuesday, August 27, 2019

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London retailer in talks to buy clothier: sources

By LISA FICKENSCHER

Struggling Barneys may

have finally found its savior in

the form of London-based on-

line retailer Farfetch, The Post

has learned.

Barneys, which has been

scouting for buyers since be-

fore it filed for bankruptcy on

Aug. 6, is in advanced talks to

sell itself to Farfetch in a deal

that would also save the high-

end clothing sellers’ flagship

Manhattan store, where it has

been selling pricey duds for

26 years, sources told The

Post.

Farfetch, which peddles lux-

ury brands including Gucci,

Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel,

kicked off negotiations with

Barneys before its Chapter 11

bankruptcy filing — but the

talks have been heating up,

sources said. In one sign of

how serious things are getting,

the e-tailer has even convinced

the landlord of Barneys’ crown

jewel location on Madison Av-

enue to slash the rent and take

back 40 percent of the 10-story

store, sources said.

Barneys’ landlord, Ashke-

nazy Acquisition Corp., has

tentatively agreed to lower

rent at the Midtown Manhat-

tan store by 25 percent to a

blended rate of $75 a square

foot, according to sources. The

deal would also call for Bar-

neys to return the top five

floors of the East 60th Street

building.

No deal has been signed yet,

but the agreement is signifi-

cant because rent at the 660

Madison Ave. location, which

doubled this year to $30 mil-

lion, is what pushed Barneys

into bankruptcy in the first

place.

Barneys declined to com-

ment on its discussions with

Farfetch, but a spokeswoman

insisted that there is no truth

to rent and space reductions

at the Madison Avenue flag-

ship.

Ashkenazy did not return

calls for comment.

In the event of a deal, it’s not

clear what would happen to

Freds, Barneys popular eatery

on the ninth floor.

“That restaurant makes very

little money anyway,” said a

source with knowledge of the

situation, adding that it would

“cost a fortune” to move the

restaurant to another floor.

“Freds’ future is tenuous at

best,” the source said.

Ashkenazy Acquisition

would likely convert the upper

floors to office space, the

sources said.

The rest of the limestone

building — or floors 10 to 22 —

is owned by a separate invest-

ment group, which rents out

the floors as office space.

Farfetch, which has been on

a buying spree since it went

public last year, sells luxury

goods on behalf of nearly 1,000

sellers, including 375 luxury

brands.

The company, founded by

Portuguese billionaire busi-

nessman Jose Neves, acquired

street wear brand New Guards

Group, which owns Off White,

earlier this month for $675 mil-

lion, and sneaker specialty re-

tailer Stadium Goods.

If Farfetch buys Barneys

out of bankruptcy, it plans to

only keep the Madison Ave-

nue flagship and its store in

Beverly Hills, sources said.

Barneys had been hoping to

retain five stores, according

to its bankruptcy filing, and

has begun closing eight

stores in Chicago, Las Vegas,

Seattle and elsewhere.

Barneys, owned by finan-

cier Richard Perry, secured a

$75 million loan in bankruptcy

that gives it until late October

to find a buyer.

Farfetch, which trades on

the New York Stock Ex-

change, also did not respond

to a request for comment.

[email protected]

By CARLETON ENGLISH

Wall Street stepped back into stocks

Monday after President Trump sig-

naled — yet again — that he wants to

work out a trade deal with China.

Early Monday, President Trump told

reporters that the two countries would

be “getting back to the table” to try to

hammer out a trade deal. It was enough

for markets, which were walloped Fri-

day on Trump’s tough talk on trade , to

end Monday’s trading session in the

green.

Although traders have been watching

trade tensions intensify and cool for a

good 18 months, they want to believe

that Trump is hesitant to let stocks drop

too much on his watch, watchers said.

“Friday’s downdraft could have got-

ten Trump’s attention,” Jack Ablin,

chief investment officer at Cresset Cap-

ital Management said. Adding to pres-

sure for a trade truce were Fed Chair Je-

rome Powell’s comments Friday that

the central banks lacks a “rulebook” for

international trade, Ablin added.

The Dow Jones industrial average

popped 303.92 points moments after

the open before settling up 269.93

points — or 1.1 percent — at 25,898.83

on signs of easing tensions between the

world’s two largest economies.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq gained

1.1 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

“Part of today’s rally is that we sold

off so much on Friday ... so even if you

get a headline that seems superfluous

in nature that’s enough to send us

green,” said Michael Antonelli, manag-

ing director at Baird. “Right now the

market [is a] dog being led around by

its leash,” Antonelli said.

[email protected]

Lifeline across the pond

London retailer in talks to buy clothier: sources

Lifeline across the pond

Portuguese billionaire José Neves —

owner of Farfetch, a UK-based online

retailer — would be the toast of

Madison Avenue if he were to rescue

Barneys out of bankruptcy in a deal

that could save the flagship store.

Like a ‘dog’ on a leash, marts follow Don

BARNEYS ’FETCHED

Post photo composite

Business

New zest

Kraft Heinz has

named Paulo Basilio,

44, its new chief finan-

cial officer — replac-

ing David Knopf, 31 —

amid accounting prob-

lems and falling sales.

Shares ticked up 1 per-

cent Monday, to $25.58.

Smokeout

Philip Morris shares

sank 4.3 percent, clos-

ing at $77.73, after ru-

mors circulated about

a combination with Al-

tria Group, whose

stock rose 1.5 percent,

to $47.12.

Hoverboard

A federal district

court in New Jersey

has ruled that Amazon

could possibly be held

liable in a suit over a

child injured by a Hov-

erboard because it was

sold on the e-tail gi-

ant’s marketplace,

Bloomberg reported.

Happy Rx

Amgen will buy Cel-

gene’s psoriasis drug

Otezla for $13.4 billion

in cash, clearing the

way for Bristol-Myers

Squibb to go ahead

with its $74 billion deal

for Celgene by the end

of the year. Bristol-My-

ers shares popped 3.3

percent, and the other

two companies both

rose 3.2 percent.

Bank dives

Brazil’s Banco BTG

Pactual plummeted as

much as 30 percent af-

ter reports of an inves-

tigation of possible

money laundering.

Sources: AP, Dow Jones,

Reuters and Post wires

BUSINESS

BRIEFS

Follow us on

@NYPOSTBIZ

Dow

Jones

Indust.

Avg.

Up

269.93

25,898.83

Nasdaq

Comp. Up

101.97

7,853.74

EXCLUSIVE