J.Crew facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1947 (as Popular Merchandise, Inc.) 1983 (as J.Crew) |
| Founders | Mitchell Cinader Saul Charles |
| Headquarters | 225 Liberty Street, New York City, New York, U.S. |
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Number of locations
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506 (2018) |
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Key people
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Libby Wadle(CEO) Julia Collier(CMO) |
| Products | Clothing, shoes, and accessories |
| Revenue |  US$2.54 billion (2019) |
| US$−78.8 million (2019) |
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| Total assets | US$1.599 billion (2019) |
| Total equity |  US$−1.35 billion (2019) |
| Owner | Anchorage Capital Group and Leonard Green & Partners |
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Number of employees
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9,400 (2019) |
| Divisions | J.Crew crewcuts The Liquor Store (defunct) The Ludlow Shop J.Crew Factory J.Crew Mercantile Madewell |
J.Crew Group, Inc. is an American company that sells clothes and accessories. It is a retailer that offers items for women, men, and children. You can find swimwear, sweaters, jeans, dresses, shoes, and jewelry at J.Crew.
The company sells its products in stores, through catalogs, and online. In 2016, J.Crew had over 450 stores across the United States. In May 2020, the company faced financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, J.Crew successfully recovered from these challenges by September 2020.
Contents
The Story of J.Crew: How It Started
Early Days: From Home Sales to Catalogs
In 1947, Mitchell Cinader and Saul Charles started a company called Popular Merchandise, Inc. They sold women's clothing at low prices. Their sales method involved showing clothes in people's homes.
In the 1980s, the company's catalog sales grew very quickly. Sales jumped from $3 million to over $100 million in just five years. In 1985, they launched a new brand called "Clifford & Wills." This brand offered women's clothing that was even more affordable.
The first Popular Club Plan catalog was sent out in January 1983. It continued under that name until 1989. These catalogs often showed clothes from different angles. They also included close-up pictures of the fabrics. This helped customers see the quality of the items.
Becoming J.Crew and Opening First Stores
In 1983, Popular Merchandise, Inc. changed its name to J.Crew, Inc. The name "J.Crew" was inspired by the sport of crew, with a "J" added for a stylish look.
In 1989, J.Crew opened its very first retail store. This store was located in the South Street Seaport area of downtown Manhattan. For most of its history, the Cinader family owned J.Crew Group.
In October 1997, an investment firm called Texas Pacific Group Inc. bought most of the company. By 2000, Texas Pacific owned about 62% of J.Crew. The "Clifford & Wills" brand was sold to Spiegel in 2000. In 2004, J.Crew bought the rights to the Madewell brand. Madewell was an old workwear company from 1937. J.Crew started using the Madewell name again in 2006. This new Madewell brand was aimed at younger women.
Changes in Ownership: Public and Private
In 2006, J.Crew offered its shares to the public for the first time. This is called an IPO (Initial Public Offering). The company raised $376 million by selling new shares.
However, in 2011, two large private equity firms, TPG Capital LP and Leonard Green & Partners LP, bought J.Crew. They made the company private again in a $3 billion deal. This meant J.Crew's shares were no longer traded on the stock market.
The CEO, Mickey Drexler, who helped turn J.Crew around since 2003, stayed in his role. He also kept a significant part of the company.
Recent Company Updates
In June 2015, news reports said that J.Crew's women's clothing sales were slowing down. This was because the company did not quickly adapt to new trends. These trends included affordable "fast fashion" and comfortable "athleisure" clothes.
In 2016, J.Crew started selling its products at Nordstrom stores and online. In April 2017, the company reduced its staff by 250 jobs. Many of these job cuts were at its main office. There were also several changes in leadership. Jenna Lyons, the long-time creative director, left the company in April. The CEO, Mickey Drexler, also announced in June 2017 that he would step down after 14 years. He remained as chairman and still owned 10% of the company.
In the summer of 2017, J.Crew avoided filing for bankruptcy. They worked out a deal with their lenders to reduce the company's debt. In September 2018, J.Crew began selling its "J.Crew Mercantile" brand on Amazon.
In November 2018, J.Crew announced that its CEO, James Brett, would leave. Four senior executives took over his role as an "office of the CEO." These executives were Michael Nicholson, Adam Brotman, Lynda Markoe, and Libby Wadle. In November 2018, J.Crew also stopped selling its Nevereven, Mercantile, and J.Crew Home brands.
In April 2019, Michael Nicholson became the interim CEO. J.Crew reported a profit of $1.5 million in the last three months of 2019. This was a big improvement from a loss in the same period of 2018.
In January 2020, Jan Singer became the new CEO. She had previously been a CEO at other well-known companies. However, in November 2020, Libby Wadle took over as the new chief executive officer. Jan Singer had been CEO for less than a year.
On May 4, 2020, J.Crew filed for bankruptcy protection. This was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the large amount of debt the company had. By September 2020, J.Crew successfully came out of bankruptcy. In September 2020, J.Crew closed all six of its stores in the UK.
J.Crew Stores: Where to Shop
In 2018, J.Crew Group had 506 stores. This included 203 J.Crew stores, 129 Madewell stores, and 174 J.Crew Factory outlet locations. The company also had "crewcuts" stores, which sold children's clothing.
J.Crew also has stores in other countries. You can find them in Canada, France, the UK, and Hong Kong. There are also 76 J.Crew locations in Japan. These are operated by another company called ITOCHU Corporation.
In March 1989, the first J.Crew store opened in the South Street Seaport in Manhattan. The company planned to open many more stores. By the end of 1989, sales from stores reached almost $10 million.
J.Crew continued to open new stores in the early 1990s. They also started to expand their sales into Canada. In April 1991, J.Crew sent catalogs to potential customers in Ontario. In 1992, J.Crew focused more on international markets. They sent catalogs to customers in Japan and Europe.
In 2011, J.Crew opened its first international store in Toronto, Canada. In 2012, J.Crew announced four more new stores in Canada. These included locations in Edmonton and Vancouver.
In 2011, the CEO, Mickey Drexler, said J.Crew would expand to the U.K. The main store in London opened on Regent Street.
Between 2016 and 2018, J.Crew Group closed 96 J.Crew and J.Crew Factory stores. In March 2020, J.Crew decided to pause plans to make Madewell a separate public company. They are thinking about separating J.Crew and Madewell into two different companies.
Marketing and Advertising
Historically, J.Crew sent out 24 different catalogs each year. They distributed over 80 million copies. Starting in 2017, the catalogs became smaller and were released less often.
J.Crew has faced some criticism for its marketing. For example, they were criticized for selling very small jeans labeled "size 000." Some people said this promoted "vanity sizing," where clothes are labeled with smaller sizes than they actually are.
In early 2011, J.Crew received attention for an advertisement. It showed the company's creative director, Jenna Lyons, painting her son's toenails pink. The ad included a quote saying her son's favorite color was pink. Some people thought this challenged traditional ideas about gender. However, others said it was "no big deal."
J.Crew has worked to connect with customers in recent years. In December 2024, Julia Collier was named the new Chief Marketing Officer.
See also
- Informal wear
- Casual wear
