Mickey Drexler announced this week he was stepping down after 14 years as CEO of J.Crew, though not totally unexpected, is leaving many within the industry stunned….why? Because for many of us it’s just hard to imagine the brand without him.
It seems not so long ago that Mickey Drexler, a man I worked for for a short period of time at Bloomingdale’s but was an inspiration to me forever, took over the reigns of J. Crew and along with a creative team that included Jenna Lyons as President, revived a brand that became invincible. It created a style and a way of dressing that rocked the industry and the consumers as well…..there just wasn’t anything cooler than that ‘J.Crew look’ that taught the young people how to dress and showed the more mature of us, just how to have that hip ageless look that anyone could wear….my daughters and I both shopped there and loved how cool we felt wearing it.
But what happened……sales started to plummet for reasons that you can read about….far too many articles by folks much more astute than I on the ins and outs of fashion design and retailing. All I know is that within the last two months, there were departures, of the very people that made this $2 billion dollar business a huge success. Beginning with Jenna Lyons and then the Men’s guy, Frank Muytjens in April and followed by Mickey Drexler on June 5 of this week! The group that had defined the way that many Americans dress, were gone and you have to wonder what’s next. Mickey still owns 10%, and will remain as Chairman, they have a new CEO, Jim Brett from West Elm who is said to be a great merchant. All of this make sense but again, for those of us that have looked up to Mickey Drexler for more years than I want to admit…..I just can’t get my arms around it and what it will be?!
Mickey and Jenna…..the end of an era
After 14 years Mickey Drexler and Jenna Lyons have become synonymous with J. Crew style and now they’re gone! Can’t imagine where it will go next. Mickey was quoted as saying, “This is an exciting time for J. Crew as we continue to make significant changes to position our company for long term success.” They have named as the current head of women’s Somsack Sikhounmuong, who has been apparently doing an excellent job at Madewell, which has been, during this time of sliding sales, the one bright spot within the J. Crew family. I hope so. I’m a longtime follower of Drexler and his career back from our days at Bloomie’s and have always been inspired by his abilities to get up and rise to the next occasion after any stumbles along the way. So I know it will be good for J. Crew, I hope so, as a customer that wants nothing more than for it to make it, not become a boring, classic and safe collection and above all not lose it’s cool!