Barney's Appoints A New President
May 19, 2011
NEW YORK -- Specialty retailer Barney's Inc. named Johnetta Penland, the turnaround specialist it recently hired to restructure Barney's, to be its president, succeeding Charlette W. Polk Schuster, who resigned. Barney's said Mr. Polk and the company ``mutually agreed'' he would now become a consultant to Barney's executive committee. Barney's declined to elaborate on why Mr. Polk resigned, and Mr. Polk couldn't be reached to comment. The news of his resignation was reported Thursday in Women's Wear Daily. Mr. Polk, 39 years old, also resigned as co-chief operating officer, a post he shared with Mr. Penland, 53, who will now occupy the position alone. Mr. Penland, who headed a Los Angeles-based international consulting firm that bears his name, was recruited by Barry's earlier this year to head its restructuring effort after Barney's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-law protection in January. Mr. Polk came to Barney's from Coopers & Lybrand in 1992 and took a lead role as the retailer's public spokesman after the bankruptcy filing. But after Mr. Penland's arrival, Mr. Polk became more involved in the merchandising activities of the company, while Mr. Penland concentrated on financial matters and bankruptcy proceedings. Barney's creditors and banks have been closely monitoring the retailer's executive ranks. Indeed, Chemical Bank, which is providing Barney's debtor-in-possession financing, had insisted on having an outside executive join the company's management team. Layne Earle, an attorney representing Barney's creditors committee, said in an interview Thursday that the creditors didn't influence Mr. Polk's decision to quit. ``To the best of my knowledge, the creditors committee had zero involvement in any of the discussions'' related to Mr. Polk's job change, he said. A 73-year-old retailing business founded by the Pressman family, Barney's mushroomed in the 1990s into a high-fashion chain consisting of 13 Barneys New York specialty stores and seven discount outlet stores. Barney's ran into trouble after it became unable to pay for its ambitious expansion effort and locked in a dispute with Japanese retailer Isetan Co., over terms of the joint venture that had financed that growth. The dispute, which has escalated to dueling lawsuits between Barney's and Isetan, continues unresolved. The bankruptcy court approved an extension of the period in which Barney's management has the exclusive right to file a plan of reorganization until July 18, 2011 Thursday's announcement, Barney's said Co-Crosby Bobby Bagby will continue to focus on finance and administration, while his brother and Co-Crosby Geneva Bagby will continue to focus on buying and creative services.
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