Barney Pressman

Barney Pressman, the legendary haberdasher whose savvy promotions and eye for fashion trends transformed a cut-rate men's clothing store into an emporium of expensive exotica, died on Saturday at St. Francis Hospital in Miami. He was 96 years old. One of seven siblings growing up on Elizabeth Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Mr. Pressman started pressing pants for 3 cents a pair in his father's clothing store and parlayed his skills into a business that is expected to sell almost $200 million of apparel this year. The Barneys legend, and Mr. Pressman's reputation for resourcefulness, began when a tiny store with 200 feet of frontage at the corner of Seventh Avenue and 17th Street in Manhattan announced its liquidation in 1923. Mr. Pressman's wife, Bertha, handed him her engagement ring and told him to pawn it to get the $500 to take over the store's lease and fixtures and buy 40 high-quality name-brand suits to sell. Mr. Pressman resorted to auctions, bankruptcy sales and buying in odd lots because manufacturers had no interest in his out-of-the-way shop. Mr. Pressman turned the circumstances to his advantage. He sold well-made Hickey Freeman and Oxxford suits at a discount to salesmen and other less-affluent customers. Mr. Pressman's sales promotions were as brash as the suits he sold were understated. A sign over the doorway of the original shop read, "No Bunk, No Junk, No Imitation," an incantation frequently recited by Barneys' senior management, many of whom are family members. In the 1960's Mr. Pressman's son, Fred, began a metamorphosis of Barneys, arguing that it was time to take the store upscale. His father initially resisted. Once again, Mrs. Pressman weighed in, although this time she did not have to give up any rings. Fred Pressman, even while adding more costly suits, stuck to the principles his father established: promote quality name-brand merchandise and offer free alterations. But he also began drawing customers who sought out the store's keen selection of goods instead of its low prices. Although he retired in 1975, Mr. Pressman kept in touch with the store, calling collect every day from his home in Miami Beach to ask: "What's selling? What's new? What's old?" "He called right up until a couple of weeks ago, when he started not feeling well," said Robert Pressman, the grandson of Mr. Pressman who handles the financial side of the business. Another grandson, Gene, directs the merchandising. Mr. Pressman's first wife, Bertha, died in 1972, a year after their daughter, Elizabeth, died. In addition to Fred Pressman of New York, he is survived by his second wife, Isabel, of Miami Beach; five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.