NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 11: A pedestrian passes Barneys New York November 11, 2004 in New York City. The Jones Apparel Group has announced a deal to buy Barneys, the clothing chain that has its flagship store on Madison Avenue. Jones said the $400 million deal included cash consideration of $19 a share to Barneys stockholders, totaling $294.3 million, and the repurchase of Barneys notes worth $106 million. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 11: A pedestrian passes Barneys New York November 11, 2004 in New York City. The Jones Apparel Group has announced a deal to buy Barneys, the clothing chain that has its flagship store on Madison Avenue. Jones said the $400 million deal included cash consideration of $19 a share to Barneys stockholders, totaling $294.3 million, and the repurchase of Barneys notes worth $106 million. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

據悉，Barneys 現時尚未最終決定是否要申請破產保護，同時考慮其他可能的解決方案。由於在紐約的旗艦店租金過高，對Barneys 的財務狀況造成了巨大的壓力。另外有消息指，Barneys與Kirkland & Ellis LLP雙方正在共同起草一份破產保護協議，最快可能會在接下來的幾星期內提出申請。

早在20年前，Barneys 以相對較低的租金租用紐約麥迪遜大道旗艦店的地址，與業主 Flagship Capital 簽訂了一份為期 20年的合約。今年1月雙方的合約到期後，新的合約的租金價格從1600萬美元暴升至3000萬美元，幾乎完全抵消了Barneys 現有的稅前利潤，可說無錢可賺，破產也可能是無可奈可的出路。對於熟悉地產霸權的港人而言，被升租金一倍也許亦是並不陌生的情況吧。可惜的還有以後又少了 一個購物名所呢！

Barney's New York

Editor

Christopher Lai