J. Crew reported a spectacular net income of $43.9 million in the third quarter -- more than twice the $19 million that the brand had reported in the same period last year. And people wondered why they gave their creative director a $1 million bonus?
According to WWD, Millard "Mickey" Drexler, J. Crew's CEO, said that the brand success is "about product, it's about quality, it's about design, it's about service, it's about creativity. It might sound simple, but in this business, sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to achieve.”
For those curious about how J.Crew's indie counterpart, Madewell has been doing pretty welll, though Drexler credited the "tweaks" over the success of the merchandise, admitting the brand has started to move away from "classic T-shirts" and toward "fashion merchandise." He also revealed that there are no plans for an "aggressive rollout" of the brand, which he still considered to be in a "somewhat incubation stage."
Most interestingly, however, Drexler said that going forward, the company is determined to "own the men's suit business" -- starting to really put its $650 models up against $2,000 competition. Look out, Brooks Brothers -- you've got competition.
