Barneys New York Returns: Details of the Naples, Fla., Relaunch Plan

Barneys New York will be back in business soon — but not in its hometown.

A group led by veteran luxury executive Richard Cohen is working diligently to relaunch Barneys New York in a 10,000-square-foot space within the Bayfront marina/development in Naples, Fla.

Cohen, along with a partner, Eric Appelblom, formed a firm called the One Luxury Solution, to open Barneys New York stores in Florida. They were granted the exclusive licensed rights in the state by the Authentic Brands Group, which owns the Barneys brand.

“We hope to open Barneys in Naples before the end of the year. So we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Cohen told WWD. “We plan to open other Barneys stores in Florida, and work directly with ABG. Jamie and Jarrod have been fabulous working this out with us,” Cohen said, referring to Jamie Salter, executive chairman, and Jarrod Weber, global president of sports and lifestyle, at Authentic.

While there has been some buzz about bringing Barneys back to the site of the former Barneys flagship on Madison Avenue at 61st Street in Manhattan, that’s not on Cohen’s agenda. And as of yet, no operator for restoring Barneys on Madison has been identified, but according to sources, Salter is working on it and has been in discussions with the landlord of 660 Madison, Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., regarding rent terms for a potential lease.

Bayfront is not a luxury center, but Cohen plans to re-merchandise it with new tenants that would make compatible neighbors for Barneys. “We have the rights to curate it; Eric and I will be turning Bayfront into a luxury center. Barneys will be the gatekeeper to that,” said Cohen. “We sat down with Kevin Stoneburner, the landlord, and we worked it out.”

Currently, Bayfront houses a B&B Italia SpA, an upscale furniture store, Port Royal Jewelers, Lovejoy Antiques, Tavern on the Bay sports bar and grill, and Kerico Mexican among the retailers and restaurants. “We have an agreements with Swims, the men’s shoe brand, and with Pilotti, an Italian shoe company. We have some high-end restaurants going in too, but Barneys is the key.”

Cohen said the new Barneys will include a 2,000-square-foot Freds restaurant, as well as the Chelsea Passage home area. Both were popular destinations at Barneys in Manhattan. Barneys private label will be sold along with “some of the most famous brands in the world,” Cohen said.

Barneys in Naples will also carry fragrance, cosmetics, jewelry, children’s, ladies’ handbags and shoes. “The women’s ready-to-wear and men’s ready-to-wear will be a relatively small portion, compared to what Barneys was originally, because there is only 10,000 square feet,” Cohen said.

He declined to mention any brands lined up so far. “We’ll have a pre-opening party where we introduce some of the brands that we’re having, but right now I think it’s a tad too early to do that.”

Asked why he chose Naples to relaunch Barneys rather than New York or Los Angeles or some other large metro area, Cohen said: “I’d much rather be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. But we think of Florida as the southern New York, and we think if we’re going to try it anywhere, let’s try in Florida. I think Florida, especially Naples, needs a store like Barneys.”

He pointed out that Naples has a very affluent demographic with many transplanted New Yorkers who reside permanently in Naples, or are snowbirds, and are very familiar with Barneys.

“You could talk about Wilkes Bashford in San Francisco, Louis of Boston, or Ultimo in Chicago, but really Barneys was the key. Barneys was famous for bringing brands from all over the world to New York and I think in Naples we have an opportunity to do exactly the same thing, to respect what Fred Pressman did, to respect what Barneys represented, and at the same time bring it into the year 2026. The location is there. We’re ready to go. Construction will start soon, and the brands have already been spoken to.”

Cohen said he has been compiling a team and has hired a creative director and an operations executive, whom he declined to name because they are still with other companies. Cohen said he is serving as the head merchant.

Asked why reviving Barneys in New York City is not on his agenda, Cohen replied: “The days of working for a landlord are long gone. Your landlord has to be your partner.”

Bringing Barneys back to New York, “That’s ABG’s decision, but for me, I have relationships in Florida,” he said. “Landlords are much more open to working with you in order to create something. New York is a tough market. So that’s up to Jamie. That’s up to what our partner Jamie finds, but at this stage of the game, I’m not involved.”

He is considering launching a Barneys in West Palm Beach, which is booming.

Remaking Barneys, Cohen said, “is not about capturing what Barneys was. It’s about capturing what Barneys can be, and frankly, I think, without tooting my own horn, with the contacts I’ve had over 45 years, it’s exciting to be able to create a point of view and, with everything that Saks and Neiman’s are going through and have gone through, to have a new specialty store point of view. Barneys New York will have a New York twist to it.”

Aside from One Lux Solution, Cohen currently serves as president of DJD&S, a consultancy he founded in 2019. During his nearly 40 years in luxury, he led the Ermenegildo Zegna Group’s North American division for 16 years, growing it from a $13 million business into a $300 million operation in the U.S. and a $1 billion business worldwide. He also served as chief executive officer and president of St. John Knits, CEO of Robert Talbott, senior vice president of international business development at Saks Fifth Avenue, CEO of Trinity Limited, a Hong Kong-listed global menswear corporation, and chief branding officer at One World Star International.

Barneys was founded by Barney Pressman, who died in 1991, but Cohen said he had opportunities to interact the family members running the business more recently, including the late and legendary Fred Pressman as well as his son Gene.

“I knew the inner workings of the store,” Cohen said.

Bayfront in Naples, he added, is “right on the water, in the heart of downtown Naples. It’s almost like a small Portofino.” Barneys there will be competing with Waterside Shops, the open-air center also in Naples that houses Saks Fifth Avenue, Tiffany, Ralph Lauren, Dior and other luxury and upscale stores. “I’ve reached out to a lot of people for advice. I’ve reached out to [former Barneys executive] Peter Rizzo, Tommy Hilfiger, who’s a friend, and Ron Frasch,” the former Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus executive. “I’ve reached out to a lot of people, asking their advice,” Cohen said. “Everyone was so positive and thought it was a great idea.”