J. Crew's Sales Soar 20% In Fiscal 2006

NEW YORK CITY-Accessorized by a fourth quarter where sales in stores rose 20% and total revenues were up 27%, J. Crew Group’s 2006 financials bore a crisp look worthy of the clothier’s stylish clientele when the figures were delivered during a company conference call late Tuesday.

“We’re very pleased,” J. Crew CEO Millard Drexler stated in reviewing the fiscal year ending Feb. 3 for the company. Revenues of $1.15 billion and $808.5 million in store sales each equaled gains of 21% compared to FY 2005. Internet and catalog sales leapt 22% to $308.6 million even as the company accelerated expansion of its bricks-and-mortar empire. Five stores were shuttered in FY 2006 but 29 new ones came on line, among them two fresh retailing concepts, Crewcuts and Madewell.

“We are starting to evolve into a category of our own, and the exciting thing is that people are starting to recognize us for that,” offered Drexler, whose company now operates 276 stores totaling 1.54 million-sf of space. Of those, 178 are retail shops and 51 are so-called factory outlets, creating a platform drastically different from the catalog-only approach employed during J. Crew’s launch nearly a quarter century ago. The company anticipates expanding its net sf by 7% to 9% in the coming year, according to Drexler.