"Thanks!" to WellFedFred, who let us know about the following news from Business Week. (Click here to read article in its entirety.) J.Crew Looks to Paris After Hong Kong for Overseas Growth (2)I can easily see J.Crew open a store along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. It is a super-busy street that attracts international shoppers. I would also be excited to see how they would design the store. Very exciting news! :)
By Billy Chan and Stephanie Wong
May 20, 2014
J. Crew Group Inc., the retail chain that is opening its first Asian stores this week, plans to expand its international push with outlets in continental Europe and will be scouting for locations in Paris.
The company plans to open stores in mostly capital cities worldwide to boost brand awareness, said Chief Executive Officer Millard “Mickey” Drexler. He will head to the French capital in a few weeks to look at some sites, Drexler said. The company currently has no presence in continental Europe.
J.Crew, ...has been expanding overseas and the Hong Kong stores are part of its plan to open outlets abroad this year including one in London and about four in Canada after opening three in the U.K. in 2013. The store additions come amid slower pace of annual revenue growth for the retailer that draws almost all of its sales in the U.S.
“We are looking where we see the right environment, like Paris is obviously a great city to do business in,” Drexler said in an interview in Hong Kong today, ahead of tomorrow’s opening of its first two Asia locations in the Chinese city. “The ambition is to go slow and do it well with great integrity, and not do it quickly and lose the quality control that’s critically important to us.”
...J.Crew reported in March net income fell 42 percent to $5.92 million in the fourth quarter ended February as it’s working to bounce back from an industry slump that hurt holiday sales and triggered a wave of discounting among rival retailers. Revenue growth in the 12 months ended February slowed to 9 percent from 20 percent in the year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg....
What are your thoughts on J.Crew's international expansion? Do you think now is the time to ramp up international expansion? Do you think they are moving into the right cities?
They need to open in Dubai, BR is there and looks sucessful?!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't know how well J. Crew can hope to do in Paris.... Paris is the Mecca of fashion, and there are so many other and better choices there.
ReplyDeleteI agree-- Plus I doubt French woman will buy their jewelry, too overstated
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DeleteYou'd be surprised. Some stores translate hilariously. I have German friends who LOVE G.Star Raw, they always ask if it's as popular over here and I'm hesitant to answer honestly. In Paris I saw TONS of Paul Smith stores which is a brand that I think of as being popular many years ago here. Same goes for Abercrombie and Hollister, the lines for their stores here in NYC are full of European tourists. Then the other way around I was SO excited when Esprit and Benetton opened in the states but both seemed to crash and burn -- and my French friends don't hold those stores in as high regard as I do.
DeleteI hope J.Crew does well, simply because it's nice to have a piece of home over there. :)
Wonder if they would sell tees with American sayings instead of French. In stead of "ooh la la " it could be "git r done"!
ReplyDeleteHA!
DeleteAren't they going to evaluate how well their expansion has worked so far in other countries first?
Shopping Celle -- Oh, you done started it!
Delete"Business in the front. Party in the back."
Take that Bien Fait! I know, it's the Madewell sweatshirt, but work w/me.
Love it Gigi! Wonder how Duck Dynasty would do there! We could probably go on for hours!
DeleteDuck Dynasty. lol Shopping Celle!
DeleteThere's a whole enclave of American stores in Saint German, on the Rue des Saints-Pères, Rue de Rennes and Rue de Sèvres. I could easily see J.Crew opening there.
ReplyDeleteI think it will do very well in Paris, appealing not only to the French, but to the huge number of international tourists who pass through there-- that's really the market you're aiming for on Champs-Elysees, not the natives.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if prices will be higher and I wonder if the Paris store will employ the same aggressive sales/promotion strategies as the US stores.
LOL, re: the French sayings tees : )
Prediction. Garance Doré will endorse J Crew. Voilà.
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