"Thanks!" to RatsOnParade (in this post) who let us know about an article over at the Stylelist (click here to read it in its entirety) about J.Crew's future plans.J. Crew Expanding to Canada, United KingdomI am not sure what this means for customers in Canada, since they already have the ability to purchase from J.Crew over the Internet. Does this mean plans for brick & mortar (B&M) stores in the country are scrapped? :( (Refer to the September 4th "J.Crew Sets its Sights on Canada!" post.)
By Lisa Marsh
January 12, 2010
J.Crew is expanding its Internet business into Canada and the U.K.
But after that, the company's chairman and CEO Millard "Mickey" Drexler has no desire to get much bigger.
"Bigger is not better -- better is always better," Drexler explained. "It's not a matter of what's been, but what will be. We could get bigger, could get faster and open a couple more factory stores, but we don't want to. There's no race -- the race is to maintain the integrity of the product."
Drexler was part of panel presentation at the Financo annual merchandising industry chief executive event Monday at New York City's Harmonie Club on the Upper East Side.
The retail industry is always changing, and now is not an exception, if anything, it's moving faster, Drexler said. "When I started at Ann Taylor in 1980, August Max was our main competitor. Now, three-quarters of the companies we competed with are not around."
He continued, "When I started at the Gap, County Seat was our number one competitor. Now, most of the people I work with have never heard of Country Seat.
"The world is always changing -- in my opinion, things are changing faster than ever. The past year was a big wake-up call. It's survival of the fittest. Most retail and fashion companies will not be around in 20 years." ...
However, this is great news for customers in the U.K. Right now, only international customers from Japan and Canada could purchase J.Crew by mail.
What are your thoughts on the article? Thoughts on the move in Canada? Are you excited to hear about J.Crew's move to the U.K.? :)
0 comments:
Post a Comment