improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2010 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs to be updated . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . july 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message j.crew group inc. type private industry retail founded 1983 ; 33 years ago 1983 headquarters 770 broadway new york city new york u.s. number of locations 551 january 2016 1 2 key people millard drexler chairman and ceo jenna lyons president and creative director 3 products clothing shoes and accessories revenue us 2.227 billion fy 2013 4 operating income us 253.6 million fy 2013 1 net income us 96.08 million fy 2013 1 total assets us 3.486 billion fy 2013 1 total equity us 1.091 billion fy 2013 1 owner tpg capital and leonard green & partners 5 number of employees 15 600 2015 4 divisions j.crew crewcuts the liquor store the ludlow shop j.crew factory j.crew mercantile madewell website jcrew.com j.crew group inc. is an american multi brand multi channel specialty retailer . the company offers an assortment of women s men s and children s apparel and accessories including swimwear outerwear loungewear wedding bags sweaters denim dresses suiting jewelry and shoes . as of august 2016 it operates more than 450 retail stores throughout the united states . 6 the company conducts its business through retail factory crewcuts madewell stores catalogs and online . 7 contents 1 history 2 retail stores 3 marketing 4 buyout 5 controversy 6 references 7 external links history edit in 1947 mitchell cinader and saul charles founded popular merchandise inc. a store which did business as popular club plan and sold low priced women s clothing marketed through in home demonstrations . 8 the 1980s marked a booming sales period for catalog retail giants lands end talbots and l l bean . popular merchandise initiated its own catalog operation focusing on leisurewear for upper middle class customers aiming for a ralph lauren look at a much lower price . the first popular club plan catalog was mailed to customers in january 1983 and continued under that name until 1989 . popular club plan catalogs often showed the same garment in more than one picture with close up shots of the fabrics so customers could get a sense of how the garment looked on the body and be assured of the company s claims of quality . throughout the mid 1980s sales from catalog operations grew rapidly . growth was explosive 25 to 30 percent a year cinader later recollected in the new york times . annual sales grew from 3 million to more than 100 million over five years . 8 in 1985 the clifford & wills brand was launched selling women s clothing that was more affordable than the popular merchandise line . the brand was sold to speigel inc. in 2000 with the intent to boost sales . 9 in 1987 two executives left the company to start their own catalog tweeds . 10 in 1989 popular merchandise inc. became known as j.crew inc. the company attempted but failed to sell the popular club plan brand . 8 also in 1989 j.crew opened its first retail store in south street seaport in downtown manhattan . 11 a madewell store at easton town center in columbus ohio in 2004 j.crew bought the rights to the brand madewell a defunct workwear manufacturer founded in 1937 and used the name from 2006 onwards as a modern day interpretation targeted at younger women than their main brand . 12 13 14 in june 2015 the new york times reported that j. crew s women s division was undergoing a slump because of the company s failure to react to two market trends cheap fast fashion and athleisure items . 15 first lady michelle obama has been reported by numerous outlets to be a fan of j. crew s clothing . retail stores edit j.crew at south shore plaza in braintree massachusetts j. crew in markville shopping centre as of january 2016 the company operates 551 retail stores including 287 j.crew stores 103 madewell stores and 161 j.crew factory including 10 j.crew mercantile outlet locations . the company also operates internationally in france uk and china . additionally the company has 76 locations in japan which are operated under license by itochu corporation . in march 1989 the first j.crew retail outlet opened in the south street seaport in manhattan and the company planned to open 45 more stores . five months after the opening of its first store j.crew added two new catalog lines classics and collections . collections used more complicated designs and finer fabrics to create dressier and more expensive items while classics featured clothes that could be worn both to work and for leisure activities . in the fall of 1989 j.crew opened three new stores in chestnut hill massachusetts ; san francisco california ; and costa mesa california all locations with strong catalog sales . by the end of the year retail sales nearly hit 10 million . despite 1989 revenues that were estimated at 320 million j.crew suffered a setback when its agreement to sell its popular club unit collapsed at the end that year . in addition rumors circulated that the company s clifford & wills low priced women s apparel catalog was doing poorly . j.crew saw revenues reach 400 million in 1990 but reported that its four existing stores had not yet started producing enough profits to cover their overheads . the next phase of store openings included outlets in philadelphia cambridge and portland . the company scaled back its plans for opening retail stores from 45 stores to 30 or 35 . in early 1991 the company hired a director of new marketing development and began efforts to expand their sales into canada . in april 1991 j.crew mailed 75 000 j.crew catalogs and 60 000 clifford & wills catalogs to potential customers in the province of ontario . response rates to this effort were slightly lower than in the united states but each order on average was higher . in 1992 j.crew intensified its push into international markets by hiring a new vice president for international development . the company already mailed hundreds of catalogs to customers in japan and europe most of whom had become acquainted with j.crew while traveling or living in the united states . in 2011 j.crew opened its first international store in the yorkdale shopping centre in toronto ontario . 16 in 2012 j.crew announced four new canadian locations edmonton alberta in west edmonton mall vancouver british columbia on robson street and toronto ontario in fairview mall and the toronto eaton centre . all locations will carry women s and men s collections . along with 5 new stores j.crew announced to opening of two new factory stores in canada with one in vaughan mills and the other in edmonton the second j.crew in alberta 17 18 19 continuing with its expansion in the greater toronto area j.crew opened at markville shopping centre in 2013 . in early 2014 j.crew unveiled its new flagship location in yorkville toronto s upscale shopping district . in an interview with the financial times in 2011 ceo of j.crew mickey drexler said that j.crew would be expanding to the u.k. with their flagship store being on london s regent street . he indicated that the company would be following up their recent expansion into canada and canadian e commerce with a physical store in england most likely followed by e commerce elsewhere such as france and germany . although a few locations were reviewed for the london store including covent garden and the east end the ultimate decision was to open on regent street . 20 in early 2014 j.crew announced plans to open brick and mortar locations in asia to be spearheaded by two establishments in hong kong . a women s store is slated to open in the international finance centre while a men s shop is in the works for on lan street . both opened for business in may 2014 . marketing edit each year the company issues 24 editions of the j.crew catalog distributing more than 80 million copies . buyout edit j.crew group was owned by the cinader family for most of its existence but in october 1997 investment firm texas pacific group inc. purchased a majority stake . by the year 2000 texas pacific held an approximate 62 percent stake a group of j.crew managers held about 10 percent and emily cinader woods the chairman of j.crew along with her father arthur cinader held most of the remainder . on november 23 2010 the company agreed to be taken private in a 3 billion deal led by management with the backing of tpg capital and leonard green & partners two large private equity firms . the announcement of the offer from two investment firms including one that used to own j.crew came as the retailer reported that its third quarter net income had fallen by 14 percent due to weaker women s clothing sales . the company also lowered its guidance for the 2010 year . under the deal as proposed j.crew shareholders would receive 43.50 per share in cash representing a 16 percent premium to the stock s closing price the prior day of 37.65 . ceo mickey drexler the former gap inc. chief credited with turning j.crew around since coming aboard in 2003 remained in that role and retained a significant stake in the company as of september 2010 he holds 5.4 % of outstanding shares . tpg one of the investment firms in the deal took a majority stake in j.crew group inc. in 1997 and remained majority shareholder until the company went public in 2006 . 21 shortly after the announcement of the deal some in the business community criticized the terms of the deal involving the company s ceo and a majority shareholder . 22 as a result the go shop period was extended shortly after the initial announcement . 23 in addition several investigations relating to potential shareholder actions against the company were announced . 24 controversy edit this section needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . august 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message j.crew has been criticized for labeling its new super small jeans as size 000 . 25 and for advertising them as toothpick jeans . critics have said the labeling promotes vanity a practice known as vanity sizing . 26 the size 000 is smaller than a size zero and has three zeros implying that it is two sizes smaller than the smallest normal size . this has caused people to question whether negative sizes will be available in the future 27 and if the method of labeling should be changed . in early 2011 j.crew was under fire by conservative media outlets for an advertisement featuring its creative director and president jenna lyons painting her son s toenails pink . beneath the picture was a quote that read lucky for me i ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink . some people were of the opinion that j.crew was challenging traditional gender identity roles although the majority of fox news twitter users agreed with author jo b. paoletti who said that it was no big deal . 28 references edit a b c d e 2016 form 10 k j.crew group inc. . u.s. securities and exchange commission . j. crew