Over at Lucky (click here), there is a video of Alexa Chung (at the launch of her line for Madewell during Fashion Week) being interviewed. She is asked several questions, including what is her inspiration & what kind of girl would buy her clothes.
On a related note... J.Crew's CEO Mickey Drexler had a lot to report about Madewell's performance during the last quarter & last fiscal year. Some highlights from the StreetInsider article (click here for its entirety) include the following:
- ...approximately $13 million in losses associated with Madewell, which includes expenses for our e-commerce launch and is essentially flat to 2009, excluding one-time costs related to store closures and impairment charges...
- ...We look at the penetration of the J.Crew brand, and Madewell has a potential, and I didn't mention anything about Madewell, because until we see it start to contribute earnings. It's not going to be on top of our we're so excited list. But in the meantime the indication is good. ...
- ...Well, we've had an interesting experience with Madewell and we've been kind of very cautious, which again I'm glad to say. We are seeing now every indication that our people like it a lot, customers like it a lot day-by-day. We are going online this summer, and we're pretty pleased about what that looks like. Again, we have a conservative sales plan, but we are - we're actually going to be looking at more stores for 2011, we're going to be a bit more ambitious about that than we've been. But it's - we've seen a lot more consistency in our performance there over the last six months, I'm really happy to say. If you go into our stores today, I think you'll see an assortment that's much more reflective of - starting a new company is really complicated. It's not an exercise that I would recommend to most, although some of us have been there successfully and not successfully, I think, so we're actually committed. We hired Alexa Chung, who - Alexa's been pretty unknown, but for us a muse of sorts for the Madewell brand. So, I think we're really - I don't want to be too optimistic, but we're spending a lot of time in the stores. We're looking at the customers, we're getting a lot of buzz and if you ask frankly a lot of women you know who shop in Madewell, you're going to see a lot more loyalty, higher traffic, a better conversion and price points. And we're becoming quite famous for our boots, our denim, our accessories, our scarves and it's actually nice to see. So I guess more to come in the next three months in terms of reporting. ...
Are you a fan of the "Alexa Chung for Madewell" Collection? Did you like (or dislike) her responses in the video? Also, what are your thoughts on Madewell's future? :)
American Eagle has pulled the plug on Martin&Osa because it never realized the market penetration they anticipated. Jcrew seems to have a more positve media aura and it seems investors have been more patient with regards to the continued $$ losses of Madewell. Quite soon, though, JCrew will have to make a decision if it is really worth it and if MAdewell is going to be a real player.
ReplyDeleteAs a JCrew stockholder, I think Madewell is a big mistake. I don't see it doing anything but draining resources from the main brand.
ReplyDeleteThrough J. Crew, I purchased the Madewell Lace-Up Bootie back before Christmas when they offered a discount across the board. They were wonderful. Great leather outside and IN. Unfortunately and regrettably, they were too big, and none were returned in my size.
ReplyDeleteI liked them enough to phone Madewell, and true to Mickey's statement, they are well-known for their boots as these were sold-out.
I'd love to see more of their items or see posts about quality/appearance/sizing.
I have a couple of Madewell tops but honestly I think a lot of the product can be found elsewhere for less. There is nothing really distinctive about the Madewell look.
ReplyDeleteI don't get Madewell. I'm not a stockholder, but as a JC addict, I wish they would dump Madewell and go back to JCrew fabulouness. Then again, maybe Jenna and co would force Madewell styles into JCrew. That wouldn't be good....
ReplyDeleteI love J. Crew. I love Madewell. My only issue with Madewell is how far away all the stores are located from me. I think J. Crew's fashion is definitely accessible to a wider range of customers than Madewell simply because it has a lot more things to choose from. On the other hand, Madewell needs to be more edited simply because it is smaller.
ReplyDeleteI personally see great sense for Madewell to be under the J.Crew umbrella. When I learned about Madewell and how it is associated with J. Crew, I thought it a no-brainer! Madewell exudes the same simple classiness that J. Crew has but with a younger edginess. It is understandable to me that Madewell is still defining itself.
I think the heads of J. Crew know what they are doing and know potential when they see it. They'll know when to dump the brand if it comes to that. For one thing, hiring Alexa Chung was genius. She exemplifies a lot of what the brand represents. Again, this seems like a no-brainer.
I am very excited about Madewell. And my purchases from Madewell the last few seasons have been rivaling my purchases from J. Crew (if this is of any comfort to investors.)