Another Ugly Quarter For J.Crew

It was another not-so-pretty quarter for J.Crew.

The preppy clothing retailer announced that total revenue for its second quarter was down 4 percent to $569.8 million, or a loss of $8.6 million.

J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler attributed the disappointing quarter to a “challenging traffic environment.”

Still, on the bright side, the loss was not as bad as the same period last year, when J.Crew saw traffic drop by 11 percent for a quarterly loss of $13.6 million.

If there was one bright spot for the retailer in the quarter, it was the success of its lower-priced Madewell brand, which saw a 15 percent sales increase in the quarter to $78.3 million.

But is Madewell’s success coming at the expense of J.Crew’s brand?

It is conceivable that, as a lower-priced alternative to the same market that J.Crew occupies, Madewell is eating into its sales, just as much as other lower-priced labels or fast-fashion alternatives.

According to Bloomberg, this is the eighth quarter in a row that J.Crew has seen a decline in sales.

Drexler said that J.Crew is planning to evolve as a retail brand, but it still remains to be seen if the brand’s reputation for quality (at a larger price point) will still sway consumers who appear ever more acceptant — and even eager — to shop fast-fashion labels who offer lower prices in a seemingly ever-changing array of styles.