Barneys New York names Socol president and ceo

By Andrea Lillo -- Home Textiles Today, 1/15/2001 11:27:00 AM

NEW YORK — Barneys New York has named Howard Socol ceo and president, replacing Allen Questrom, who left in July to head JCPenney.

He also succeeds Questrom as chairman of Barneys' board of directors, though Questrom will remain a director of the company.

Socol brings more than 30 years of management and merchandising expertise to the luxury retailer. He served as chairman and ceo of Burdines Department Stores, a division of Federated Department Stores, for 13 years. He started as an assistant buyer and advanced to become president 12 years later, the youngest president in Federated's history. He was also ceo of the J. Crew Group from February 1998 to January 1999.

Douglas Teitelbaum, managing principal of Bay Harbour Management, and David Strumwasser, a principal of Whippoorwill Associates, the two major stockholders of Barneys, said, "Howard is one of the most highly regarded merchants in the retail and apparel industry. His proven track record in brand and product development and growing companies in terms of sales and earnings makes him the ideal executive for Barneys. Howard will provide excellent leadership and vision to complement one of the best merchandising teams in the industry."