Barneys CEO Mark Lee to Meet With Brooklyn Civil Rights Group

Following not one but two allegations of racial profiling at the Madison Avenue flagship, Barneys CEO Mark Lee has agreed to meet with reps of Rev. Al Sharpton's National Action Network. WWD reports that the National Action Network "plans to picket Barneys if the alleged pattern of racial profiling is not immediately rectified," which probably sped up Lee's response about taking that meeting. The department store head honcho also posted a letter on the Barneys Facebook page. See it in full above and also after the jump.

Barneys New York believes that no customer should have the unacceptable experience described in recent media reports, and we offer our sincere regret and deepest apologies.

Further to our statement of yesterday, we want to reinforce that Barneys New York has zero tolerance for any form of discrimination. We are a strong proponent of equal rights and equal treatment for all human beings. Our mission is to ensure that all customers receive the highest-quality service—without exception.

To this end, we are conducting a thorough review of our practices and procedures as they relate to these matters to ensure that they reflect our continued commitment to fairness and equality. To lead this review, we have retained a civil rights expert, Michael Yaki, who also serves on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The Commission has been the nation's watchdog for civil rights for more than 50 years. Mr. Yaki will be provided with unrestricted access to all aspects of our store operations.

In addition, Barneys New York has reached out to community leaders to begin a dialogue on this important issue.

Sincerely,

Mark Lee
CEO of Barneys New York