Change is in Store for Rittenhouse Square's Barneys Co-Op

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Following news that Barneys New York CEO Mark Lee wishes to halt cross-shopping between the Co-op and Barneys New York brands, WWD announced today that the company will be eliminating the Co-op nameplate from its entire lineup of Co-op stores, retiring the name for good.

All existing Co-ops, including Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square location, will be rebranded as smaller Barneys New York units. "This enables us to flow everything together under the same brand identity and marketing system," said Lee. During the conversion, Co-ops will undergo remerchandising and renovations to represent the company's new "simple, modern" aesthetic.
Update (July 25): Barneys New York adds the following statement:

After completing the first three Co-Op conversions to Barneys New York stores in 2013, we will focus our efforts on the remaining stores in 2014, including Philadelphia. We anticipate the Philadelphia customer will respond well to our enhanced merchandise selection and improved store environment when the conversion is completed. At this time, Barneys New York has no intention to close the Philadelphia store.