Fashion

J.Crew Is Opening An Affordable Store In Dallas

by Melanie Richtman

J.Crew is admired by the fashion industry for its well-designed, classic yet trendy pieces, but consumers often critique its higher price points. J. Crew is admired by the fashion industry for its well-designed, classic yet trendy pieces, but not all consumers can afford them. So, after a year of speculation, CEO Mickey Drexler announced J. Crew's new cost-conscious store called J.Crew Mercantile in Dallas this month, according to Fashionista.

The company trademarked "J.Crew Mercantile: last year with the intention of opening a new line of stores, but no one really expected anything to come of it. Drexler, who previously helped launch Old Navy to great success decided it was time to get the cost-conscious J.Crew line off the ground.

The J.Crew Mercantile stores will sell merchandise that was designed specifically for the J.Crew Factory stores, but its unclear how different the Mercantile concept will be from the outlet stores. In a statement, J.Crew said that Mercantile is a "collection of value-driven merchandise with classic J.Crew style for women, men and children." So pretty vague.

It will be interesting to see if J.Crew Mercantile will be a hit with consumers and if J.Crew will be able to differentiate the two concepts enough so that Mercantile doesn't cannibalize J.Crew's sales. But hey, I'm all about a more affordable J.Crew, and if their CEO is reading this, please start selling these pieces online, for those of us nowhere near Dallas.

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