J.Crew Opening Secondary Chain Mercantile

The WSJ pointed out that Old Navy's launch was the brainchild of Mickey Drexler in the '90s, and the lower-priced store eventually "overtook Gap in both revenue and number of [national] stores."

About J.Crew:

J.Crew debuted in 1983 with the mailing of its first catalog. Six years later, they opened a flagship store at New York's South Street Seaport. Today, the business includes retail and outlet stores nationwide and an ever-growing online and catalog business.

In 2003, Millard "Mickey" Drexler joined J.Crew as chairman and CEO, pushing service, quality and innovation to the next level. Still under his leadership almost a decade later, they partner with the finest global fabric mills and craftsmen-as well as with iconic brands such as Jack Purcell®, Timex®, Thomas Mason® and Red Wing® (to name just a few). J.Crew has also introduced several line extensions, including crewcuts (for kids sizes 2-14), J.Crew weddings & parties and J.Crew Collection (featuring exclusive and limited-edition pieces). J.Crew continues its retail expansion with a series of new specialty shops for men, women and kids, as well as the addition of dedicated shoe and handbag salons in existing stores.

J.Crew went global in August 2011 with the opening of our first Canadian store, located at Yorkdale Center in Toronto, which was followed quickly by store openings in both Vancouver and Edmonton. We rolled out our e-commerce site to over 100 countries in early 2012 and are also currently scouting overseas for brick-and-mortar locations.

J.Crew Factory, which launched in 1988, offers the J.Crew style our customers love in stores across the country and on www.jcrewfactory.com. All of the J.Crew Factory items are exclusive designs-featuring casual classics, cool colors and bold prints (never last season's leftovers). Their Factory clothing is based on great styles and favorites from past J.Crew collections, though in order to keep our prices competitive, we sometimes slightly change the designs, fabrics and washes (but we always make sure to maintain the quality and integrity that their customers expect from J.Crew). They also design crewcuts Factory, our collection for kids-it's the same style you love for yourself, only slightly smaller.

In 2006, they introduced Madewell, a modern-day interpretation of an American denim label founded in 1937. Madewell continues to bring the same original integrity to everything it makes today, including a wide range of effortlessly cool pieces to pair with denim. Step inside any Madewell store across the country and you'll notice a friendly general-store vibe and antique décor that naturally reflect the authenticity and timelessness of the clothing. In addition to Madewell's brick-and-mortar stores, madewell.com (launched in 2010) is a strong sales driver. Madewell has also been making a further play in the digital space with a robust social media presence.