Fashion Definitions — fashion history, brands and industry terms from Apparel Search
J.Crew is a clothing and accessories company in the United States, founded in 1983 with the launch of its catalog. It expanded into brick-and-mortar retailing in 1989 with a flagship store at the South Street Seaport in New York City and is known for classic clothes with a preppy look.
|
|
J.Crew is a clothing and accessories company in the United States. J.Crew was founded in 1983 with the launch of its catalog and expanded into brick and mortar retailing in 1989 with its flagship store at the South Street Seaport in New York City.
It has since become an American brand known worldwide for its collections of classic clothes and accessories. In addition to its men's and women's clothing, accessories, shoes, and wedding lines, in 2006, J.Crew launched a children's line, CrewCuts. The company sells clothing with a "preppy" look similar to retailers Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren.
Currently J.Crew's catalog has a circulation of over 80 million, and J.Crew has 165 retail stores and 43 outlet stores. Their website was launched in 1996 and allows buyers to browse both J.Crew's online only offerings, and normal catalog and retail offerings. There are J.Crew stores in Japan, and J.Crew's website offers shipping to Canada and Japan.
Initial Public Offering
J.Crew, a large stake of which was owned by private equity giant Texas Pacific Group, had its stock market debut (IPO) on June 28, 2006. J. Crew's share price opened over 25% above its IPO offer price on its first day of trading.
The company is listed on the NYSE under the stock ticker JCG. CEO Millard Drexler, a veteran of Gap Inc., will control 15% of the company following the IPO.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/j.Crew 10/9/06 - some links modified by Apparel Search |
|
Designer Definition (from U.S Department of Labor)
J.Crew's growth follows three distinct channels in sequence. The company began in 1983 as a catalog business, added physical retailing in 1989 with the flagship store at the South Street Seaport in New York City, and launched its website in 1996. Each channel carried the same offer in a different form: the catalog reached a circulation of over 80 million, the store network grew to 165 retail stores and 43 outlet stores, and the website allowed buyers to browse both online-only offerings and the normal catalog and retail offerings in one place. The order matters — the brand was established in print first, so the stores and the website extended a look customers already knew rather than introducing one.
The clothes are described as classic, with a preppy look similar to retailers Brooks Brothers and Ralph Lauren. That comparison places J.Crew in a specific part of the American clothing market: not trend-led fashion, but familiar, polished styles for men and women, extended into accessories, shoes and wedding lines. The 2006 launch of the Crewcuts children's line widened the same position to a younger customer, so a household could buy across men's, women's and children's clothing under one name and one recognisable style. Stores in Japan, and website shipping to Canada and Japan, carried that American classic offer outside the United States.
A large stake in J.Crew was owned by the private equity firm Texas Pacific Group before the company went public. The initial public offering took place on June 28, 2006, with the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock ticker JCG, and the share price opened over 25 percent above its IPO offer price on the first day of trading. Chief executive Millard Drexler, a veteran of Gap Inc., was to control 15 percent of the company following the IPO. The offering therefore changed the ownership structure without changing the business described above it: a catalog-founded American brand selling classic men's, women's and children's clothing through catalogs, stores and a website.
J.Crew was founded in 1983 with the launch of its catalog. It expanded into brick-and-mortar retailing in 1989 with its flagship store at the South Street Seaport in New York City.
In 2006 J.Crew launched a children's line called Crewcuts. The company also sells men's and women's clothing, accessories, shoes and wedding lines.
J.Crew had its stock market debut on June 28, 2006, listed on the NYSE under the ticker JCG. Its share price opened over 25 percent above the IPO offer price on the first day of trading.