MarketingProfs

MediaBuyerPlanner: Preppy clothing chain and apparel cataloger J. Crew said that in August it would launch its new Madewell chain, which will carry women’s clothing at prices 20 percent to 30 percent less than J. Crew merchandise, writes BrandWeek.
Madewell creator Millard Drexler, former CEO of the Gap who joined J. Crew at the end of 2003, reportedly purchased the brand name and leases it to the J. Crew Group for $1 per year, according to the company’s 10K filing last week.
J. Crew – which operates 164 retail stores, its catalog business, the jcrew.com website, and 43 factory stores – reported solid financial results on April 26, with consolidated revenues for the year ending Jan. 28, 2006 increasing 19 percent, store sales up 16 percent and direct sales up 28 percent.