Ethan Yang
Int Sem 2
Darcy Rothbard
26 April 2017
Bridge 4
Fashion or Business? This question has been bothering me for years and years. When I was little, I knew I love doing business, and going to be a businessman in the future for sure. And yet when I getting older and older, I found out that I have a really strong passion for fashion as well. I was pondering for a really long time, but one day, I suddenly realized that I can be a retailer or buyer, which covers both fashion and business. “How do the fashion retailers work, and become successful?” Basically this question covers all of the questions that a retailer should know, and Barneys New York, a luxury department store that was founded by Barney Pressman in 1923, is exceptionally distinguished. It has now approximately 1400 workers, and earns around $900 million dollars in revenue in 2016. There were plentiful sources that associate with how did Barenys become so successful, and I believed that Barneys’ success is not because of luck, just like the quote, “Rome was not built in a day.” This is the best statement to suit why Barneys is so successful today. “Barneys” is not just a brand’s name, but a sign to show the prestige that cannot obtain from elsewhere. Thanks to the plentiful superior elements behind the label, such as the outstanding planning teams that executives perfectly, the superb inventory control and superior taste, the convenient and practical marketing tools and a lot of excellent features. It has favorably engaged innumerable celebrities, upscale patrons, affluent millennials and other fashion devotees to its high-end luxury stores. Barneys is indeed a real success.
First and foremost, Forbes has provided abundant details, which all associate with fashion and retailers, and have some deep connections with Barneys. According to Forbes.com, “Retailers focus on optimizing their brand assortment, inventory quantities, and demand generation that maximizes product / market fit for each retail location or property.” These three key traits are so paramount that a successful retailer cannot build without. In essence, there are two main steps: 1. Brand to Retailer 2. Retailer to Consumer. Retailers buy a discounted price from the brands, and there is a specific amount to be purchased, logically the more we buy, the more we save. Later on, the retailer set the price and sell to the customers. It is vital know its customer base, and the location that it sold, so that it can set our price properly to attract the right clients, to make a right business. Therefore, I used these three main points and other significant informations to search for related resources, and wondered how Barneys, the already well-known and successful high-end retailer, used these features to execute and maximize its profit.
“Profit” is the paramount thing to look after, and how does a company keep earning, and yet still bring novelty simultaneously is not an easy task. As Apparel.edgl.com has pointed out, basically, there is a 15-men-team at Barneys, which handles all the merchandising and assortment planning for stores, outlets, warehouse events and so forth. They also work with approximately one hundred buyers and their assistants from all the divisions. They, the planners, set targets for brands, such as how much they are going to import, which brands should they introduce, what are their budgets for different brands and so forth. They also review goals with buyers before the they go to fashion shows and purchase the items. The more noteworthy thing is it has emphasized the importance of planning. Beyond just spending time more wisely and efficiently, they “have ownership of their plans and their businesses,” said by Lucille Celis, vice president for merchandise planning of Barneys New York. Its main point is to optimize the labels, and perfectly control the company by outstanding planning. Since Barneys is a pretty large-scale retailer, it is located not only the United States, there are fourteen stores in America, four in New York, five in California, Las Vegas, Seattle and other states, but also all around the world such as Japan, Singapore and more locations. Thus, they need to reflect the fashion sensibility of each place very nimbly and correctly. Moreover, Barneys even launched an international shipping service six years ago, which is an unprecedented move. This list contained 90 countries, like Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, and the list going on and on. Barneys COO Daniella Vitale has quoted in a release. “Barneys has incredible global brand recognition, and international shipping has fundamentally changed that reach.” This explanation has perfectly shows the intention behind this unparalleled action, and it has already known this opportunity years ago, which was really impressive and brave.
In addition, Barneys has been perfectly managing, and selecting which brands they are introducing, and superbly controlling the goods that are being imported as well. “Understanding that it is a niche player within the luxury world and reducing its reliance on the discounts its upscale peers are all chasing.” It is a fundamental statement which differentiate Barneys itself from other high-end department stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and so forth. Just like Mark Lee, a former Gucci boss and now CEO of Barneys New York said, “There’s no point otherwise. Our customer wants what’s different, a different experience and a different assortment.” It has been introducing numerous avant-garde fashion designers, such as Haider Ackermann, Dries Van Noten, Proenza Schouler for decades. It has not been afraid to take a risk of bringing those unconventional brands in, so that it can magically fulfill different customer bases. They are trying to create a deluxe heaven that specifically for the tasteful, and high-class people, who do not really care about discounts, but rather pay more attention on the quality. What Barneys introduced is unquestionably critical; nevertheless, how the retailer control this large amount of inventory is totally another story. Furthermore, Barneys has installed computerized systems for planning and inventory controlling, it also built a new distribution center in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, which can rapidly process inventory just within 24 hours. Charles W. Bunstine, the company’s chief operating officer, has pointed out, “We needed to change from a store culture, where merchants were always in the stores or in the markets looking for trends, to an information culture, where people had access to and were using information about sales and inventory to make decisions.” Barneys is using this specific computer system to control the whole inventory, and it has perfectly handled the inventory in a good condition. It is hard to imagine that it needs to handle a huge amount of inventory that is much more than others, but still can smoothly execute it, which probably other retailers store cannot compete. These two demonstrations explained how Barneys optimize its brand assortment by introducing forward-looking designers brands and control its inventory quantities with innovative computer systems, and set inventory spaces that near its stores.
Apart from the brand assortment and inventory, how to profitably maximize product fit for each retail location is absolutely a hard task as well. However, Barneys still effortlessly promotes its extravagant goods to its loyal clientele that come from different nations. In accordance with Eyeondesign.aiga.org, Barneys New York has released its very first print publication–The Window, which was inspired by the well-known editorial site of the exactly identical name that launched in 2011. There were several reasons why the company did this move. Just like Ms. Daniella Vitale stated, “The digital version of The Window has been one of the fastest growing and responsive platforms in our portfolio, so it was natural for us to put this successful narrative into print.” It can let clients experience Barneys better, and appreciate the items that it introduced. Besides the print publishing, almost an year ago, Barneys New York launched a platform with its mobile app that will tell the users when new goods are released, and it also can guide patrons in the store with more convenient and comfortable experience. When users open it, there will be two notifications showing up, which are permitting push notice, and allowing Barneys to use customer’s location to determine if they are around or in a Barneys store. Barneys Vice President of digital– Matthew Woolsey has commented that, “The most important touchpoint is the phone.” Barneys is providing a more personalized experience in store by using the technology to please the consumer . It was very essential to catch those millennials’ lifestyle, and using this business opportunities to attract more purchasers. Another benefit from the software is Barney’s can adjust the contents pretty handily, and saving resources at the same time. The print catalog and the mobile app have both influence the clients in different ways, but both of them surely have profound impacts and cater to the shoppers’ needs. Barneys has been putting much effort to suit its fashionable products in various location with varied special methods.
As we can see, Barneys has been changing the fashion field for decades, and there is no sign that it is slowing down. It keeps challenging and improving people’s taste by importing more and more distinguished clothing. Although some people might think it always introduces the luxurious designers brands that is pretty difficult to make a purchase or it does not have many items that are on sale, or other any kinds of reason. Nonetheless, it is what its strategy about, and to differentiate from others, to make itself more exceptional. It has applied lots of innovative technologies to assist its inventory, publication, application, managing, buying and many other parts of the company. Undoubtedly, Barneys is a real success, and it is improving and satisfying people’s needs all the time. More importantly, it is always changing, improving the retailing system, and inspiring abundant millennials, especially me. I believe Barneys has a really bright future, it will continuously attract those wealthy people and celebrities for sure. Since, nowadays, there are more and more fashion aficionados are emerging, people are starting appreciating fashion and taking fashion as an important business. I think Barneys absolute got a serious business opportunity to make its reputation more prominent and notable, and would be remain profitable in the future. After I finished these resources, I think I got most of the points that I should be aware in the retailing industry, absorbed abundant new knowledge, and confirm that Barneys is not just a retailer, but more like a paradise that fascinates every fashion enthusiasts.
Bibliography
“Barneys New York Turns its Blog, The Window, into a Magazine for Spring 2015.” Eye on Design. June 16, 2015. Accessed March 08, 2017. https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/barneys-new-york-launches-a-magazine-version-of-the-window-for-spring-2015/.
Carroll, Matthew. “How Fashion Brands Set Prices.” Forbes. February 23, 2012. Accessed March 02, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewcarroll/2012/02/22/how-fashion-brands-set-prices/#22c8cad2822d.
Communications, Edgell. “Barneys: You’ve Gotta Have a Plan.” Apparel Magazine: The Leading Resource for Global Apparel Executives. Accessed March 08, 2017. http://apparel.edgl.com/news/Barneys–You%E2%80%99ve-Gotta-Have-a-Plan65830.
“How Barneys Became a Luxury Store Again.” Fortune. Accessed April 06, 2017. http://fortune.com/barneys-luxury/.
Lo, Danica. “Barneys.com Announces International Shipping to 90 Countries.” Racked. May 31, 2011. Accessed April 10, 2017. http://www.racked.com/2011/5/31/7763153/barneyscom-announces-international-shipping-to-90-countries.
Milnes, February 15 2016by Hilary, March 8 2017by Tanya Dua, March 8 2017by Tanaya Macheel, March 8 2017by Yuyu Chen, Sponsored By OpenX, and March 8 2017by Jessica Davies. “How Barneys is digitizing its New York City flagship store.” Digiday. February 15, 2016. Accessed March 08, 2017. http://digiday.com/marketing/barneys-digitizing-new-york-city-flagship-store/.
Strom, Stephanie. “Did Barneys Overextend Itself? Not Really, It Insists.” The New York Times. July 23, 1994. Accessed April 06, 2017. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/24/business/did-barneys-overextend-itself-not-really-it-insists.html?pagewanted=all.
