Morgenstern's Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Pint. Applying similar strategies from Gap, Drexler sought to reposition the J.Crew brand as a truly upscale boutique. Ive been through stuff like this before, and its awful and no fun, Mr. Drexler said in an interview in his office, his feet propped up at the end of a conference table that serves as his desk. The biggest problem with Mickey is Mickey, and everyone at J. He also has an MBAdegree fromthe Boston University Graduate School of Management. The leather leads make a huge difference compared to the nylon; Theyre more comfortable, and you dont ever have to replace them. With the threat of a recession looming, the new year brings about a slew of challenges for retailers but not all is gloomy. This move backfired, and alienated their core consumers. But it was a lot more than a cardigan. Now, he has set his sights on Madewell, which opened its first store in 2006 and plans to add 15 this year, to total 100. [9], On June 5, 2017, it was announced that Drexler would step aside as chief executive. There should have been someone talking to Drexler about mass customization instead of opening up new stores," Peterson said. You used to see a commercial about The Gap khakis, and think, Thats cool. Now you can go online and find out what 100 people think about it too, and then someone else might say, look at this guy in Brooklyn whos doing something really cool. Instagram: biographyscoop. Mickey Drexler, current Alex Mill CEO and former Gap and J. In a year, the business has to start demonstrating that its making a positive turn, with two years to reposition. Theyre expensive, but with things like this, you amortize it over the life of these products. Drexler was bitter about his ouster but it was validated when sales rebounded one month after his departure. A question about pricing strategy can lead to a story about Steve Jobs first Tesla car, an anecdote from Mickeys years on the board of Apple. And he pondered why, after so many years, he feels as if he still has so much to do. We use He is 77 years old as of 17 August 2021. Indeed, the relationship between J. Mickey Drexler is diving back into the clothing business at a time of upheaval. Crew Group for $1 a year. I say, 'Tell me about your high school jobs.'. Crew. They paused the brand for a few months and relaunched it in 2019 with a different model, with expanded collections for both men and women, a slightly lower price point, a better website and primarily selling direct-to-consumer. . An Alden shoe is in that category. Topics covered: retail tech, e-commerce, in-store operations, marketing, and more. Twitter: @BiographyScoop One recent morning, he dictated answers to emails shared by his assistant. Kapner, Suzanne, "Mickey Drexler, Former Gap and J.Crew Boss, Is Running a Fashion Brand Again", The Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2021. Crew was doomed from the get-go. And you would think that catalog would translate to online really well, but it doesnt, and Im not sure why., It's not necessarily what consumers are buying, but how they are doing so, and the internet is changing everything, Peterson said. Hes a lovely, hugely talented person.) The designer was fatigued from the pace of working for billion-dollar companies, designing 100 new shirts every season, and was looking for something more personal and fulfilling. Sep 17, 2021. His marketing campaign at Gap on khakis is still widely remembered as one of the best ever in the industry, and he is rightly referred to as the Prince of Merchants. However, what worked in the past few decades will no longer work today. Mr. Drexler was the first in his family to go to college, graduating from the University at Buffalo in 1966 with a degree in business. I never helped him at all, says Mickey. Drexler wanted to reinvent the J.Crew brand as a true premium boutique, using Gap-style methods. Every product is independently selected by (obsessive) editors. This move backfired, and alienated their core consumers.". ", Director of Retail Studies at Columbia Business School. Gap: Mickey Drexler. He has a daughter who is in college and a son out of school, working in cloth manufacturing. J.Crew hired Drexler as chairman and CEO in 2003 after his abrupt departure from Gap. Last summer, Tyler Haney, the founder and chief executive of Outdoor Voices, appeared to be golden. I actually gave it a lot of thought, because its like plastic surgery your glasses are a part of your face. Fall 2017 and performance in 2018 are pivotal in determining what happens, he said. "J. Cookie banner. On June 5, 2017, it was reported that Drexler will be stepping down as CEO. Crew design director Somsack Sikhounmuong . Hed been unable to reverse a several-year downward trend as customer tastes shifted. Well see what happens.. Drexler was somebody special.. Often credited duly with Gap's charismatic and powerful rise during the 1990s, Drexler led the company to a dramatic shift to a private brand merchandise and rapidly grew to become an iconic component of the pop culture of the 90s era. And then Gaps quality got traded down to Old Navy. The couple has been married since 1969. - Age The price dropped to $27.5 million in 2017 then re-entered the market last year, with an asking price that shot back up to $29.9 million. All of these issues discounting, changing consumer dynamics, missed fashion moments are the result of top-down decisions, which means the question of what went wrong is both incredibly simple and remarkably intractable. Millard Drexler took three steps into the Madewell store on the corner of 19th Street and Fifth Avenue and already he was annoyed. Things you buy through our links may earnus a commission. I cant explain it., After stepping down as the chief executive of J Crew in 2017 (and leaving the chairman post two years later), Mickey says it was only a matter of time before he would find a way to return to the fashion business full-time. America forus its a $300mn, $400mn or $500mn marketeasily, he says. The J. He later received an M.B.A. from Boston Universitys Graduate School of Management. Their success will hinge on getting back with a customer who finds their merchandise compelling, he said. The former Gap Inc. and J.Crew Group boss is taking over as chief executive officer of Alex Mill, a clothing brand his son started. I feel like its been around forever.. The brand launched its first womens shoe last autumn, aladylike velvet flat, and will continue to add cold-weather items and other pieces that go beyond thewardrobe staples Alex Mill started with. His father, who officially took the title as Alex Mills CEO last summer, formalising what was already a growing role in the business, espouses the same mentality. I lived in San Francisco until 2002, when I left Gap. At the same time, the company, which declined to comment to Retail Dive for this story, was bloated with hundreds of retail locations it was loathe to shutter. To me, its laugh out loud. Their collaboration with New Balance might help, he said. Crew is unlikely to get enough earnings growth to bring it down to a more sustainable 6 to 7 times., Even if earnings grow by 20% or 30% over the next few years, theres still too much debt., VP and senior analyst at Moodys Investors Service. And its delicious. personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to New Jersey's ruling restricting Tesla from selling cars directly to consumers is illogical, Drexler said, because the dealership . Hes a merchant who remains as obsessed and passionate about product, design and retail as he was when he started his career more than40 years ago. Millard "Mickey" S. Drexler(born August 17, 1944) is an American businessman and investor, currently CEO of Alex Mill, and head of Drexler Ventures. | 2 p.m. The J. I wear them every day, except during SoulCycle. Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. He says he has been advised to raise Alex Mills prices but is set against it, because it can often require promotions to move products. Drexler goes out five days a week to a coffee-shop breakfast with his daughter . The combination of fashion failures, technology misses and retail expansions led, unsurprisingly, to J. Crews current $2 billion debt problem. Drexler bought the building for $5.5 million in 2008 and then tapped French architect and interior designer Thierry Despont to renovate and expand it, transforming the 24-foot-wide behemoth into a single-family spread. This site uses cookies. A successor of brilliance, as opposed to just a CEO. Brett will need to resolve the litigation issues, stave off creditors, fix the fashion end of things and win back customers. https://www.wsj.com/articles/mickey-drexler-former-gap-and-j-crew-boss-is-running-a-fashion-brand-again-11625736601. [15], Drexler has made a guest appearance in an episode of the AMC drama Breaking Bad called Confessions, in which he plays a car wash customer. In 1998, when he was chief executive of Gap. Crew Group and founder of Madewell, a retail chain that markets a hybrid of city girl meets tomboy style. And I love people who worked in coffee shops who were waiters and waitresses. Drexler remained CEO until September 26, 2002, when he was succeeded by Paul Pressler. Morgensterns is like that: I like all of its flavors, but I love cookies and cream. In 2005, after J. In fact, the retailers successful Madewell brand may be the anchor that supports a turnaround, giving the company room to rediscover itself, Aryapadi said. He is more shy and cautious in conversation than his father, but with a similar obsession with details, from the placement of buttons to the stencil typography of the logo. Some kind of debt transaction needs to happen to make the capital structure sustainable. Under Drexler the company made a dramatic shift to private label brand merchandise and expanded rapidly to become an iconic part of 1990s pop culture, such as "khakis, basics and casual Fridays". Crew, it was the Mickey and Jenna show, and Mickey said that the reason they werent doing well is that they picked the wrong cardigan, Mark Cohen, director of Retail Studies at Columbia Business Schooland former CEO of Sears Canada, told Retail Dive. There are few fashion merchants who have better defined affordable American style than Mickey Drexler. Crew was trying to go upscale, its core consumers were facing a financial pinch, so there was a mismatch between merchandise carried by J. Mickey Drexler, Former Gap and J.Crew Boss, Is Running a Fashion Brand Again At 76, he's taking over Alex Mill, a clothing brand his son started; 'I never want to retire' Mickey Drexler is. J.Crew boosted prices and expanded during years when consumers got more and more frugal, according to Drexler. I like uniform dressing, and I try to invest mostly in things that will not go out of style. We look at every product that goesin. A day in the life of J.Crew's CEO. It was that the J. Suzanne Devitt Levit, who purchased the property with her husband Carson Levit, said she likes the interiors. All rights reserved. I just like clothes that you put away, and even if it comes time to give them away, theyll never not look good. Hes a collector of real estate: He owns a retreat on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, an estate in Montauk, N.Y., and a ski house in Sun Valley, Idaho. Mickey Drexler is a businessman and investor from the United States who is now the CEO of Alex Mill and the founder of Drexler Ventures. Sometimes I have it for dinner. [Jeff] Bezos is the greatest merchant of this century so far. Crew back on track, they would let him tackle Madewell. I get pints sent to the house, so theres always one in the freezer. Mandi is an experienced writer on various topics with a passion for telling stories with words. Fast-forward to 2019, when Millardbetter known as MickeyDrexler (who happens to be Alexs Dad) was in talks with a few companies looking for his expertise. Former J.Crew chief Mickey Drexlerwho in 2017 spent over $26 million on adjacent waterfront properties on one of Miami Beach's most exclusive streetsis expanding again, snagging a neighbor . How they remediate the debt is a big unknown, and I dont think they can fix the business fast enough, he says. And he travels by private plane. Thats the voice, right? he said. Property records showed that Drexler paid $27.5 million for that house in 2007. The listing broker for his Tribeca home is Deborah Grubman, of Corcoran. (I was like Somsacks unofficial agent for jobs, says Mickey. Mickey was still leading J Crew when Alex struck out on his own. But proving yourself, he said. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, This Do-Everything Body Oil Is 25 Percent Off, 12 Things on Sale Youll Actually Want to Buy: From Shinola to Staub, Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers, Mighty Leaf Organic African Nectar Whole Leaf Tea, Morgensterns Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Pint, What Businessman Mickey Drexler Cant Live Without, The Strategist 100: Our Most Stood-Behind Gifts, The 16 Very Best Moisturizers for Mature Skin, Tracking Down the Schlumpy-Chic Artist Costumes in, The Strategist Haul: What the Editors Bought in April, What New Sounds Host John Schaefer Cant Live Without. Not that they should look the same. This looks bad to customers, he said. (He was famously fired from Gap and left J Crew on less than rosy terms with its backers, in both cases amid downturns.) As the struggling retailer looks to restructure its debt and pivot its business model, Drexler will step back and hand over the steering wheel to Brett, but analysts warn that Drexler will likely be a backseat driver. A trust headed by Millard "Mickey" S. Drexler, the fomer CEO of both J Crew Group and Gap, paid $16.5 million for a waterfront mansion in Miami Beach. Things you buy through our links may earn usa commission. Topics covered: supply chain and logistics, sourcing, real estate, merchandising, and more. With the Gap, Mickey Drexler changed the way the world dressed.Then he was abruptly fired, and hired by J.Crew. I love denim. Surprisingly, Drexler has made a guest appearance in an episode calledConfessions of the popularAMCdrama,Breaking Bad. A giant of American retail, he is best known for leading Gap and J Crew when both brands were not just mall giants, but cultural bellwethers that created and defined the American casual uniform. Terrible., Alex Mill is built on the idea of a uniform, but one that can be interpreted by teen trendsetters and confident boomers alike. The runway is not as clear., Mr. Drexler is aware of that. There are no skinny jeans or ripped-from-TikTok trend items to be found among Alex Mills collection. The way Amazon functions is they have idea groups and execution groups, and Amazon has nutty ideas like drones, and stores like Go. Crew. Its a double whammy.. And none of these merchant princes have successors. Subscribe to the Retail Dive free daily newsletter, Subscribe to Retail Dive for top news, trends & analysis, The free newsletter covering the top industry headlines, TimeForge and Combase USA Team Up to Provide Essential Workforce Management Tools to KORONA PO, Authenticity is now a key new driver of revenue and loyalty for U.S. shoppers, Revionics named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for Retail Price Optimization Solutions, FRAYT Raises $7 Million, Brings Last-mile On-demand Delivery to Over 50 Major U.S. Markets, By signing up to receive our newsletter, you agree to our. Drexler has also worked atBloomingdale's, andMacy's.In 1983, Gap founder, Donald Fisher, hired Drexler to take care of the portfolio of brands under it. Prior to his involvement, Gap had been a relatively small chain selling private and public brands. His father was in the garment business, while his mother was a secretary. 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Drexler stayed on as CEO until September 26, 2002, when Paul Pressler was named as his successor. Father, son [there are] complications, but you work it out, Mickey says. Once he got J. Crew late last year attempted to shieldby transferring them to an unrestricted Cayman Islands subsidiary. The contract was first reported in Mondays Luxury Market Report from Olshan Realty. His real name is Millard Mickey S. Drexler. "Mickey is a brilliant merchant, but not a brilliant manager. Topics covered: e-commerce, payment technology, IT, in-store tech, cyber security, and more. She was attending the Lacey Township HS prom when her . But thats how we grew all the companies. I used to know Larry quite well from Marthas Vineyard, and thats him in real life. Gaps spectacular rise during the 1990s is largely linked to Drexler. In 2006, Madewell opened its first store for women in Dallas, and Mr. Drexler soon retooled the brands tomboy image. With its first store at theSouth Street Seaportin New York City, the J.Crew Group, an American clothing and accessories line founded in 1983, and based inNew York City, scaled new heights as quickly as in 1989. The approximately 6,600-square-foot home includes three bedrooms, five bathrooms, a two-sided fireplace in the great room, gold-leaf ceilings in the kitchen and an elevator. The former chairman and chief executive of J. To bring you not just any clothes, but the right clothes. As with the leashes, I like local-ish places. It just goes with everything in the world, and its 100 percent cotton we have denim that is non-stretch, and were going to say it loud and clear! Crew agreed to invest an initial $7 million in capital, the brand was absorbed into the J. and other data for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, Hes wearing a soft, light-wash denim version of the more commonly seen worker style from Alex Mill, the apparel line his son Alex Drexler founded almost a decade ago. Its a great way for me to exercise and get it over with early, although Im a great critic of the music. He turned up a year later at J. Crew as an upscale venture. Mr. Drexler bought the Madewell name for $125,000 in 2003, he said, agreeing later to lease it to the J. But he eventually realised that fashion was in his blood, he says after a walk-through of Alex Mills cosy open-plan office above Lafayette Street, newly expanded to accommodate the growing team. The company on Monday officially announced plans to restructure its debt through a debt swap to exchange any and all of the outstanding $566.5 million aggregate principal amount of 7.75%/8.50% senior pay-in-kind notes due in 2019 for an equity stake and bonds that mature in 2021. Crew, which was struggling, bent on redeeming himself. Former J.Crew chief Mickey Drexler has sold his Ketchum, Idaho, home and two adjacent lots for $11 million, according to people familiar with the transaction. Mickey first introduced Alex to Sikhounmuong, a talented designer who had recently left J Crew and Madewell after 16 years with the business. And I love the shape and the wash of our denim jackets, so I have one in every color we make. .css-16c7pto-SnippetSignInLink{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;cursor:pointer;}Sign In, Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Biography. The one where all the details add up superb craftsmanship, high quality fabric, and just the right cut (we could go on). To say more the brand now is famously wornby the country's First Lady,MichelleObama, whose fashion statement is remarkably commendable. Drexlers real estate over the years includes holdings in New York City, the Hamptons he once owned Andy Warhols Montauk compound and is now in Amagansett as well as in Miami Beach. "The J. [1] He was formerly the CEO and chairman of J.Crew Group,[2]as well as the CEO of Gap Inc. [3] Early life and education[edit] Born to Jewish parents in the Bronx, his mother died when he was 16. cookies "This is our first-ever billion-dollar year," he added. Ive always complained about it. The voice belongs to Millard Drexler, the chairman and C.E.O. London, Paris, Romewe ship around the . However, if current trends continue, there is a possibility that the Madewell brand and J. Brett has to demonstrate that hes in charge and the direction hes set is sensible. Distribution and use of this material are governed by If anyone knows how to make a jacket famous, its Mickey. (Mickey is the founder of Old Navy and Madewell, and the former CEO of The Gap and J. He has done other houses with Mr. Despont including a Manhattan townhouse and a Tribeca condominium. Its the fundamentals of everyones uniform, says Mickey. It was once owned by Andy Warhol, whose guests included Jackie Onassis, Mick Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor and John Lennon. While he started Old Navy and the children's line at Gap, he did not personally own them. Now, Mr. Sikhounmuong said, We are adding them to our resort line for spring 2015., While Mr. Drexler is energized by his progress at Madewell, everyone agrees that he and his team still need to address the problems at J. The three of them got together and decided to join forces. Two months later, when Drexler announced that he was stepping down as CEOand former West Elm CEO James Brett would take his place mid-July, the fashion industry was both surprised and unfazed. Crew, its multiple missteps may have simply been a question of bad timing, according to analysts. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair but thehair sprayand theelectric toothbrush. Website: Biographyscoop.com Melissa Drexler (born 1978) is an American who delivered a baby in a restroom stall at her high school prom and put the body in the trash, before returning to the dance. Somsack Sikhounmuong, Madewells head of design who was named in 2013, went to Mr. Drexlers office, where his boss quizzed staffers about whether the company needed to expand its beanie lineup. Just in: Hand painted Perfect Weekday Flower Totes here. We bought it for the stores, and frankly, we didnt sell much. Crew, she said: There is calibration to do. Then its going to be a year or two more to see if the customer buys into it., Analysts are also questioning whether Brett is the right person to fill Drexlers shoes. People like consistency. George is a local store there, and I really liked its assortment. And while Amazon famously did not begin posting regular profits until 2015, J. So today, with a small-but-mighty team based in SoHo, together they obsess about creating great style that never goes out of style and designing pieces that let yoube you. This is what I do, Mickey says. Mickey Drexler, founder of Madewell, in its Fifth Avenue flagship store. J. Single-Family Homes Sell Faster Than CondosAnd at Higher Prices, Christies Is Auctioning Seven Works to Benefit Storm King Art Center, You Can Now Rent Emily Blunts Former L.A. Digs for $30,000 a Month, Tommy Lee Says Goodbye to His Calabasas Home Sweet Home, Trophy Home Deals Give Manhattan Its Highest Sales Volume in a Year. Sikhounmuongs vision was heavily influenced by vintage workwear and uniforms, like the sturdy, roomy chore jackets that first appeared in France in the late 19th century and became popular on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1920s. Still, he sees Madewell as very much his own creation. And he needs to do it quickly. "As a kid, I'd see his face on the cover of magazines," Alex said of his dad Mickey Drexler, who . For a decade, the pair ruled American fashion with cashmere fists. The property first went on the market in 2019 with an asking price of $13.9 million, according to Travis Jones, who with colleague Svea Grover at Engel & Vlkers represented both sides of the transaction. Under Drexlers leadership, the company made a significant transition to private label brand items and quickly developed to become an iconic aspect of 1990s pop culture, with slogans like khakis, basics, and casual Fridays. The comfortable American casual image that typified the Gap brand was shown in television commercials utilizing tunes like Mellow Yellow and Dress You Up in My Love..
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