J.Crew Heading East to Hong Kong

Bloomberg.com has reported that J. Crew will open its first Asian store in Hong Kong.  The store will open as early as next year and they are also looking for sites in Beijing and Shanghai.  This is in addition to the London outpost also set to open next year.    

J. Crew wants to attract tourtists from China's mainland and compete with other apparel companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Gap Inc. and Burberry.  

“We feel that we’re ready to go international,” said Chief Executive Officer Mickey Drexler. “Going international is a strong learning curve and it could distract us from building our business in the U.S., but we feel that the time is right now.”

“Brands entering China only now have still a lot to fight for,” said Yuval Atsmon, a Shanghai-based partner at McKinsey & Co. “Even a slower growing China would still deliver more apparel growth than any other market in the world.”

Overseas Growth

Founded in 1983, J.Crew has more than 200 stores in the U.S. and Canada and is preparing to expand in Europe and Asia. In 2008 the company pulled out of Japan, where it had some licensed stores through a partnership. 

The U.S.-based retailer will also sell items including clothes and shoes at Lane Crawford stores in Hong Kong and China beginning in October, according to a June statement from the companies.