“J.Crew is getting access to a somewhat elevated customer, and it will get to sell some higher-ticket items at Nordstrom”, said Richard Baum, managing partner of Consumer Growth Partners. “We are known for exceptional design, quality and style, which we know will appeal to the Nordstrom customer”.
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This isn’t the first time that J.Crew has partnered with Nordstrom, J.Crew’s Madewell brand has successfully been partnering with Nordstrom since 2015.
Nordstrom Inc. said Monday that it will begin selling an edited assortment of J. Crew merchandise at Nordstrom full-line stores and online starting September 12. The company, which loaded up on debt in a 2011 leveraged buyout, has suffered seven straight quarters of declining same-store sales.
The women’s fall 2016 assortment will feature signature J.Crew styles, including iconic classics such as their famous Regent and Rhodes blazers, Italian cashmere, outerwear and their famous Martie trousers, to name a few.
A lot of that sales decline was due to slippage in sales of the J. Crew brand, as comparable store sales fell 8 percent. J. Crew’s own sales have been dipping and the company has been trying to make a comeback.
J.Crew – looking to reverse sagging sales – has cut a deal with a major department store.
The agreement with Nordstrom is the only one of its kind in the USA, and not a push toward selling more clothes through other chains, J. Crew said on Monday.
This isn’t Nordstrom’s first deal with the company – it has sold items from Madewell, which is owned by J. Crew Group, since previous year.
It’s unclear, though, how much the J. Crew brand name will help Nordstrom.
Nordstrom has been struggling to pull up its sales, too. For Nordstrom, the partnership fits with its long-term strategy of offering exclusive brands, co-President Pete Nordstrom said in the statement. As part of his turnaround plan, Chief Executive Officer Mickey Drexler also has opened more off-price stores and expanded Madewell, the New York-based retailer’s younger, hipper brand.
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“This is certainly a way for them to express that visibility and remind customers of their relevance”, he said.
