J.Crew unveils first flagship store in London

Fashion

After months of anticipation, this Friday marks the opening of J.Crew flagship store on Regent Street in London. It is the largest of the three J.Crew stores to open across the city of London and the first flagship store to open is doors outside the US.

Flagship
store located on Regent Street, "arguably one of the most important streets"

“We've waited a long time for this,” said Millard ‘Mickey’ Drexler, CEO and Chairman of J.Crew in an interview with WWD. “It's the next chapter in our growth and our future. It's an important flagship location on arguably one of the most important streets in one of the most important locations in the world.” The store on Regent Street is last of the three J.Crew to open, with the men's only store on Lamb’s Conduit Street opening its doors for business end of October and the women’s collection store on Draycott Avenue opening Wednesday this week. The flagship shop will offer both the full J.Crew collections of women’s and men’s wear, as well as their children and accessories lines.

According to the company’s creative director, Jenna Lyons, the newest store is not made from a ‘cookie cutter’, and the interior design has been carefully cultivated to reflect the brand’s personal vibe, with a dash of traditional British decor added in, creating a store that felt ‘classically British.’ For example, in the women’s sector of the store, which has it own entrance on the corner of Regent and New Burlington Street, there is a modern version of the telephone booth added to the display, while in the men’s department re-done vintage furniture sits among the designs.

London is a 'second home' for J.Crew

It was just 18 months ago that J.Crew decided to offer online delivery to over 100 countries worldwide and since then business has been booming for the US-based company. Drexler mentions in an interview with the BBC that the increase of UK customers, both online and offline in J.Crew stores is what initially sparked the idea of bringing the brand to the UK. “The UK vibe is very much like the J.Crew feeling,” said Drexler, adding that London felt like a ‘second home’ to the company, one that was missing a brand like J.Crew. “We would not be in London, if we didn’t feel like we could make a difference,” he concluded.

However, t

he brand plans to stay true to its American heritage and will not be offering any special collections or extra additions for its English customer. “What we want to do is give the customer something to react to emotionally, to be who we are, and to be as good as we are here as anywhere else,” said Drexler. Lyons agrees with Drexler and adds that the brand will never be about attracting customers with the latest trends, but will always be focused on creating a personal relationship with its customers. She admits to being curious about how the local clientele will respond to the brand, “there is a different level of ease in London, compared with New York or Los Angeles. It’s a natural sexiness, a more understated glamour,” said Lyons in an interview with Vogue.

There is just one issue with the new J.Crew stores that has been brought up a number of times already, the price difference. The brand has re-priced the entire stock of merchandise to be sold in the UK and many critics accuse the brand of simply swapping the dollar sign for pound sign on the price tag. Drexler however argues that it all comes down to cost differentials and that the company is not doing anything different from all the other brands selling abroad. He said it all came down to a “matter of economics”, with the brand being based in the US, prices in its home country will always be less than prices in stores abroad. According to J.Crew, UK prices are roughly 20 percent more than what they would be in the US. Even with the price difference, the brand still expects to see equal, if not higher revenue, for the new flagship store in its first year.

With the flagship store opening tomorrow on Regent Street, J.Crew does not appear to be in any hurry to open more international stores. “We are exploring [expansion in] the UK and in other countries. But we’re not in a rush, and we don’t plan to roll stores out quickly,” said Drexler to WWD.

Vivian Hendriksz

Photos: J.Crew collection, Millard 'Mickey' Drexler

J CREW

Regent Street