When Neiman Marcus decides to axe 450 employees, Saks Fifth Avenue is bidding farewell to 1,050, you really have to wonder how super-luxe retailer Barneys New York is dealing with the drop in luxury spending. To be honest, well, Barneys isn’t really handling the situation–the retail chain is hanging in there.

Image via frillr.com

Two years ago, Dubai equity fund Istithmar purchased the retailer for $942.3 million, believing Barneys’ profits to soar beyond the sale price. Currently, Barneys is only valued at $430 million (barely). It’s not a matter of finding an investor to save Barneys, but rather, Barneys’ price tag.

As reported by WWD, Barneys has no plans to close any flagship stores, despite drastically poor performances over the past three years in their San Francisco, Dallas, Las Vegas and Boston locations. If any of the stores were to go, it would be the Barneys Co-Op stores, which had initially encouraged the growth of the contemporary designer market.

Despite Barneys’ uncertain future, large design houses are still shipping to the retailer–as well as receiving payment for their goods. And the retailer still seems to be buying.

To recall Alexander McQueen’s “Darwinism”-inspired collection for Spring 2009 (this is a collection Simon Doonan should be vaguely familiar with), this year truly will be a “survival of the fittest” among the important luxury department chains, and in these desperate times, Barneys New York probably should approach their next steps with more caution.