James Brett is chief executive officer of apparel retailer J Crew. Brett has had more than 25 years of retail experience. He most recently served as president of specialty home furnishing company West Elm, a unit of Williams-Sonoma.
Sales at J Crew, whose ballet flats and cashmere cardigans were once a staple of middle-class US wardrobes, have been declining, as it struggles to keep abreast of changing tastes and faces fierce competition from cheaper online retailers.
J Crew has been an institution since 1983. It is renowned for its fresh, luxurious take on everyday staples.
America’s favorite basics store is known for its lace jogging pants, skirts, tank tops, tees, dresses, fine Italian cashmere sweaters, sequin and lace-detailed skirts and playful jewelry.
Following a six per cent sales slump in 2016, the company is investing in retuning J Crew’s identity as an affordable and accessible brand for everybody — not just the fashion-forward crowd.
J Crew is now trying to compete without marking everything down by 40 per cent every other week. It has created an analytics team to research and optimize the cost of each item. It also plans to switch up its supply chain beyond China so that clothing will arrive in stores faster.
