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It is an end of a fashion era in Manhattan. One of the Big Apple’s landmarks is set to close for good.

The New York Times is reporting that albeit several attempts to save Barneys New York the luxury goods store will shut its’ doors. According to the news story the company officially succumbed to bankruptcy on Friday, November 1. Authentic Brands Group will now own the name but not keep the brick and mortar location open. In a formal press release the brand management group will license the Barneys name to Saks Fifth Avenue which will then sell Barneys branded products in an effort of “building a business model that will adapt this legendary brand for the future of experiential luxury.”

In a lengthy post on the Barneys Instagram account investor Sam Ben-Avraham detailed why the choice to wave the white flag. “Dear Family, Last night after two months of working around the clock, my team and I had to make the hardest decision we could have imagined: to pull out of the race and not go to court this morning. This was one of the hardest decisions I have made in my life thus far.”

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Dear Family, Last night after two months of working around the clock, my team and I had to make the hardest decision we could have imagined: to pull out of the race and not go to court this morning. This was one of the hardest decisions I have made in my life thus far. My team and I still feel very strongly about Barneys: what it stands for and what it could mean in the future. We believe it has its place in New York’s landscape and beyond. During the process we were fortunate to meet a lot of amazing people who joined our team and gave everything they had to save this New York institution. Unfortunately, we failed to convince enough people in the business community that it made economic sense to keep Barneys alive. Some unexpected road blocks were put in our way. We understood from the beginning that looking at spreadsheets and numbers, it did not make sense but we saw a future beyond that. We knew that once we overcame that hurdle there would be light at the end of the tunnel. I apologize if I have failed anyone, and gave anyone false hope by not being able to close the deal. I know this chapter is about be be over and not the way I wished or imagined. I hope something greater will come from It. I want to thank my team who gave the fight of their lives and haven’t slept for the past two months. To all the people who believed in the dream and kept us going beyond the imagination. To all Barney’s family members who we met personally and the ones we met virtually and made us feel part of the family in that very short period. I wish I could do more. The stores might be gone but the spirit will live forever. Cheers to the life of Barneys. – Sam

A post shared by THE SPIRIT OF BARNEYS (@thespiritofbarneys) on Nov 1, 2019 at 7:24am PDT

Barneys was originally launched in 1923 by Barney Pressmen. It would grow on to embody the New York upper class by introducing luxury labels to the world such as Armani, Comme des Garcons and Christian Louboutin.

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Source: HipHopWired.com

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