Jones Comes Off the Block

Boneparth also says rumors that the company could sell parts of the business separately are unfounded. "Our brands count among many different product categories, and we think this is tremendous value," he says. "We continue to hold fast to the belief that the whole is more than the sum of the parts."

Instead, Jones will focus on its core businesses, which include the Barneys New York chain of luxury department stores as well as clothing and footwear lines and stores under the names Anne Klein, Jones New York, Nine West and others. The firm's goal, Boneparth says, is to "enhance existing brands and continue to develop new brands."

One of the company's most recently-announced initiatives, made public earlier this month, is a more rapid roll out of its Anne Klein units. Eight are scheduled to open between this month and October and 15 are scheduled to open annually over the next few years. The brand currently is mainly sold in department stores across the country.

The firm is also ramping up its Barneys expansion. Last month its announced a 60,000-sf flagship store to open in San Francisco in the fall of 2007. In March the chain opened a flagship in Boston, one is scheduled to start business in Dallas next month and another is slated to open in the fall of 2007 in Las Vegas.

Executives announced in March that they were considering the sale of the company. Goldman, Sachs & Co. to advise the company.