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Barneys New York is taking the accusations that employees of its Madison Avenue flagship racially profiled two young black customers very seriously (both stories here and here): The department store's chief exec Mark Lee will meet with Kirsten John Foy, the president of Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network's (NAN) Brooklyn chapter to discuss the claims next week, according to a Barneys spokeswoman. Foy noted that if nothing changes, NAN plans to picket the department store.
In other news, the Change.org petition, which urges Jay Z to "be appalled by Barneys actions, and withdraw all support from them," is currently up to 1,622 signatures at the time of writing. The rapper's high-brow collaboration, called "A New York Holiday," is due to land November 20.
· Barneys' Mark Lee to Address Profiling Accusations [WWD]
· Another Shopper Comes Forward With Tale of Barneys Racism [Racked]
· Barneys Facing Suit After Discriminating Against Black Shopper [Racked]