Barneys New York is looking for a boss again.
The swanky fashion chain — which weathered a luxury slump without a CEO for nearly two years — is renewing its on-again, off-again search for a retail guru to take charge of its turnaround, The Post has learned.
The move is a signal that Istithmar, the Dubai-based investment firm that shelled out nearly $950 million to purchase Barneys in 2007, plans to keep its grip on the retailer despite expressions of interest from high-profile investors including Los Angeles billionaire Ron Burkle and New York hedge-fund tycoon Richard Perry.
After several threadbare seasons, Barneys’ business is booming this spring, sources said. Accordingly, Burkle’s investment firm Yucaipa has assumed a “passive” stance on Barneys after picking up nearly half of the company’s $500 million debt load last year, according to one source.
Burkle is “happy to simply watch his investment appreciate,” and Perry appears to be like-minded, the source said.
Meanwhile, the CEO hunt “has only just started again,” and Istithmar hasn’t yet hired an executive-search firm to lead the process, according to another source close to the company. Herbert Mines Associates, the firm that was hired in 2008 to find a replacement for former CEO Howard Socol, couldn’t be reached for comment yesterday.
During the initial rounds of the search, names that were circulated included former Gucci CEO Mark Lee. While Istithmar had previously sought an executive with global retailing credentials to lead an expansion overseas, sources speculated that it’s now more focused on getting its domestic stores back on their feet.
Istithmar had effectively dropped the CEO search last year amid uncertainty about the future ownership of the retailer. While Istithmar consistently denied reports that it had held informal talks to unload Barneys, sources said Dubai’s debt crisis had threatened a forced sale.
Dubai has since escaped disaster, and domestic demand for chic, pricey clothing has surged. Barneys’ same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, rose more than 20 percent in March after posting smaller gains in January and February.
The sales have been matched by fat margins, as the retailer had slashed its inventory by as much as 20 percent.
In addition to earmarking funds for a high-dollar executive, Istithmar has been deploying the fresh inflows of cash to expand. Last month, the company said it will add to its lower-priced Co-Op chain, with new locations in Brooklyn and Santa Monica, Calif.
A year ago, Istithmar was forced to pay more than $20 million to prop up Barneys’ cash-strapped operations. But this spring, the retailer’s robust business has helped it pay vendors in a timely fashion.
“We have not declined an order for Barneys since February,” said Gary Wassner of Hilldun, a firm that finances the flow of luxury goods to upscale retailers. “It’s a change from a year ago. It’s what everybody was hoping would happen.” james.covert@nypost.com