The Wall Street Journal has an interview today with new-ish Barneys chief executive Mark Lee in which the former Gucci boss confirms that the store has dropped all new Prada merchandise except for menswear and shoes meaning there’ll be no Marc Jacobs stole at Barneys for you this spring.
The split, Lee says, came about because the Italian megabrand wanted Barneys to agree to a concession model, under which Prada would lease its floor space and give Barneys a percentage of sales. Lee, who says he wants to move Barneys toward “exclusives,” said the decision had been made before he got there last August but he supports it. It’s a fairly dramatic move, especially considering it was Barneys that broke Prada in the U.S. many years ago, introducing us all to geeky art-house fashion and very expensive nylon handbags.
Barneys, Prada in Tussle [WSJ}
