Despite a rather lackluster year for retail, one of Manhattan's most luxurious retailers is planning to open a new location -- its first in five years, and its first-ever in Brooklyn.
Sources close to the deal told Crain's New York that Barneys is currently researching various locations in Brooklyn with the hope if opening a Barneys Co-Op somewhere in Cobble Hill. As Crain's points out, the move is a seriously bold one for the retailer, since its owner, Istithmar World, is still in in debt.
A Brooklyn move, however, seems like a brilliant choice for the store, considering the growing popularity of fashion-forward boutiques like Bird and Stuart & Wright in Brooklyn that have been catering to local clientele with the Barneys brands that they're longing to wear (Phillip Lim, Isabel Marant, etc) without the long, arduous weekend train travel to Manhattan. Opening a Co-Op is also a safe move, since the Co-Op offshoot focuses on coveted mid-range labels like Shipley & Halmos, Loeffler Randall, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang. All just further proof that, between indie boutiques and designer studios, Brooklyn is truly becoming the fashion borough.
