🔥 Inside J. Crew's Comeback
Happy Thanksgiving dorks
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I am spending this holiday in New York having a near perfect day: working out, writing this newsletter and going to Le Crocodile later.
First off all, I went to a new cocktail bar last night, Tigre, and it was impeccable. Behind a nasty, graffiti covered door was an immaculate interior.
I had a martini called ‘Cigarette’. Anyway then I went to Soho Grand to hang with the other degenerates not seeing their family for Thanksgiving.
Okay now onto the topic of today’s newsletter… J. Crew’s comeback!
NYT Coverage
Yesterday, the New York Times published a story all about J. Crew’s organizational woes and the top-tier talent they have brought on board to right the ship. In 2020, J. Crew was the first retailer post-COV*D to file for bankruptcy. The brand had become mall-core. Absolutely diluted, bad product, bad branding. Which was a shame considering J. Crew is a cultural mainstay in American men and womenswear.
But after filing for bankruptcy and handing over control of the company to their creditors, J. Crew brought on a new CEO, Libby Wadle. She began the hiring process for two new leaders:
Olympia Gayot, Womenswear and Kids
Brendan Babenzien, Menswear
I want to focus on the menswear side, and what J. Crew has done to position themselves for success.
New Talent, Fresh Creative
Mr. Babenzien spent many years as the creative lead for Supreme, before starting his own prep-inspired brand, Noah NY. His work at Noah made him an obvious choice for J. Crew, considering their long lineage of preppy garments. Since joining J. Crew a few years back, he and a talented assortment of creatives have worked to bring J. Crew back from the brink. Let’s explore how—
Better Product
J. Crew at its core has always been about tasteful, prep-inspired classics. Rollneck sweaters, suiting, and chinos. But for many years, the quality of the brands output was horrible. I have a decent collection of J. Crew from the 90s and you can feel how much the craft had diminished in the mid 2010s.
But today, J. Crew is embracing their heritage and has elevated their product back to the peak of the brand. Their first hot item was the massive, Big Chino, which took the menswear world by storm last year. They are basically just a massive pair of straight fit chinos, but something about their size sparked insane interest, prompting a series of try-on and review videos which drove buzz for the brand.
Remember when I mentioned earlier that old J. Crew was so good? Well J. Crew knows this too. They have been bringing back a curated selection of classics and vintage garments like a leather jacket, rugby’s, and rollnecks. This is a perfect way to bring attention to the brand’s heritage and capitalize on the heavily saturated interest in vintage clothing. Gen Z consumers want items that not everyone can have.
Positioning with Tastemakers
J. Crew is gaining back relevance by taking a new approach to influencer marketing. Rather than getting the clothes in the hands of movie stars, athletes, or TikTokers, they’ve opted to partner with cultural tastemakers. Here are a few they’ve styled recently:
Mel Ottenberg, editor of Interview Magazine
Raven Smith, cultural critic
Mike Mills, director
Adam Pally, actor and menswear enthusiast
By styling some of the coolest people working now, they’ve positioned the brand as clothing for other cultural tastemakers.
Artist Collaborations
Just as they’ve done with influencer marketing strategy, J. Crew has partnered with artist to create interesting marketing campaigns. Earlier this year, they partnered with 10 hot photographers for a campaign featuring photos of the American landscape, honoring the brands rich history in American menswear.
Campaigns like this cannot be measured with direct sales attribution, but work to tell a brand story and build out J. Crew’s universe.
On the Horizon
I think J. Crew is one of the wildest success stories in turning around a brand from the brink of death. I genuinely really love the creative direction of the brand and I appreciate they are doing more than just good product photos.
They are deliberately telling a new story for the brand by partnering with individuals and artist who are driving culture, thus positioning J. Crew as a brand aspiring or present tastemakers. Shout out to all the J. Crew family.
Okay I am going to dawn my J. Crew suit and go to dinner now. Bye.
About Jake
Jake Bell is a content marketing strategist based in NYC. He specializes in branding, art direction, creative strategy, content creation, and making things cool.
To get in touch visit www.jb.studio
Like video? Check out his TikTok
Like fit pics and pictures of chairs? Visit his Instagram.