Jones Apparel Will Buy Barneys for $400 Million
Jones Apparel Group Chief Executive Peter Boneparth wants to give his middle-brow company a taste of luxury.</br></br>Yesterday, Jones reached a definitive agreement to acquire the upscale retailer Barneys New York Inc. for a total of $400 million in cash and other consideration.</br></br>To some, it seemed an odd pairing. While Barneys is known as an elite purveyor of high fashion, Jones is a giant in the slow-growing world of moderate and "better" women's apparel, home to such labels as Jones New York, Nine West and Anne Klein. While Jones has annual sales of more than $4 billion, it has no experience in luxury retailing.</br></br>The acquisition is "not a clear fit," wrote Prudential Equity Group analyst Lizabeth Dunn in a note to clients, writing that luxury retailing is "outside" Jones's core competency. Jones shares fell 3.0% yesterday to $34.92 in 4 p.m. New York Stock Exchange trading.</br></br>Indeed, Mr. Boneparth, a former banker, is known for his impatience with haughty designer pretensions -- something that Barneys traffics in with flair. Jones is currently embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with Polo Ralph Lauren over the Lauren women's clothing line, which Jones used to manufacture.