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.
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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?
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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.
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