One is the 85,000-square-foot store at the Shoppes at the Palazzo in Las Vegas, owned by real estate operator General Growth Properties Inc., the people said. Barneys is the anchor tenant in the $1.9 billion retail-entertainment complex on the Las Vegas strip that opened last year and features boutiques from tony brands such as Christian Louboutin and restaurants run by celebrity chefs.

Barneys had expected to generate $6 million a month in sales at the store, but since last fall the company has eke out about a quarter of that, one person familiar with the issue said. Neither Istithmar World, which owns the retailer, nor Barneys replied to requests for comment.

"The mall is beautiful, but you just can't shop it," said Matt Bear, principal of EndCap Real Estate Advisors in Las Vegas. "The layout is strange," making Barneys hard to find. Surrounding luxury boutiques are also cannibalizing Barneys' sales, he said.

Launching this fall in Barneys' flagship locations and aptly named Exclusive, the collection will be presented alongside the mainline Paul Smith collection and replace the London Collection the retailer previously carried. Exclusive will reflect the natty and whimsical Paul Smith aesthetic but with a narrower focus on modern tailoring.

"The Exclusive collection complements the runway collection," said Tom Kalenderian, Barneys general merchandise manager for men's. "It leaves room for the runway collection to be more experimental and trend-based."

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Suits will be priced at $1,400 to $1,750, which is approximately 20 percent lower than the signature collection. Sport coats will be $1,250 to $1,500 — also a 20 percent difference. And shirts will be $250 to $350, which is 30 percent below signature.

"I believe Barneys was strong enough to survive without the support, but because vendors and factors were nervous we elected to put some more capital in to help decrease their level of concern," David Jackson, chief executive officer of Istithmar World Capital, the parent of Barneys, told WWD.

Jackson would not confirm the $25 million report, but he did characterize the level of support as "significant," adding, "In this environment, where everybody is hoarding cash, we are trying to send a signal that we are supporting the business."

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Earlier, Jackson released a statement that, "Istithmar World Capital has provided a significant level of additional capital to support Barneys New York. Working closely with management, we believe that this amount allows the company financial flexibility to work with the company's major vendors and financial intermediaries. The plan enables the company to meet its 2009 schedule of shipments. We will continue to monitor the company's performance but we are confident that no further injection is needed at this time."

"They were across the board," said Dawn Brown, vice president of publicity for Barneys. The retailer has about 2,400 employees. The cuts were effective Monday. "Initially, we elected to cut other expenses to save jobs as long as possible and now the continued economic downturn has made layoffs necessary," Brown explained. The budget cuts have been made in every division and were started last year and continued into this year, she noted.

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Barneys is also grappling with other issues, including negotiating with a handful of factors over millions in delayed payments, though a resolution is expected soon, according to Barneys parent company, the Dubai-based Istithmar. Barneys has been operating without a chief executive since July. As the search continues, Barneys is operated by a committee of executive vice presidents and senior vice presidents, with some support from the board, which includes former ceo Howard Socol. Istithmar, an equity firm involved in buying and selling companies, will eventually try to sell Barneys to recoup its investment, but no sale is imminent. Istithmar bought Barneys for over $900 million from Jones Apparel Group Inc. in September 2007, and no sufficient offer has surfaced.

The financial vise is tightening on Barneys New York, with some factors no longer approving spring orders as a result of uncertainties over the luxury chain's future. Barneys' costly expansion of the past three years has failed to gain traction; the retailer has been without a chief executive officer since last July, and the severe downturn in retailing, particularly the luxury sector, has hit the retailer and its cash flow hard. Its owner, Dubai-based Istithmar, has been quietly trying to sell the chain at a price no one wants to pay as the Middle Eastern emirate faces its own economic meltdown. All those factors are making certain vendors and suppliers skittish over Barneys and less inclined to take risk, though the luxury chain appears current on its bills.

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Meanwhile, executives at major fashion houses said they are continuing to ship to the store. "Barneys is current [on its payments] and shipable," said Patrick Guadagno, president of Versace in the U.S. "It's business as usual." One sportswear designer who requested anonymity said the store paid this season. Major stores have been good on their payments, but some smaller independent retailers are facing challenges in paying, the designer said. Executives at many smaller fashion firms said they, too, were getting paid, although at least one said payment was slower than usual.

One factor said a temporary halt on approving spring orders has more to do with wanting to know what Barneys' owner has in mind for the future of the chain. He explained that, essentially, factors just want to know "how much ongoing support Barneys will get from Istithmar going forward." If the information is satisfactory, orders will start being approved in March, factors said.