J.Crew – Both Fashionable and Preppy

J.Crew (NYSE: JCG) launched in 1983 as a mail order catalog, featuring “classical” men’s and women’s clothing and accessories. J.Crew also sells items for pets. Its first brick-and-mortar store opened its doors in 1989. In 1996, J.Crew launched its website. In 2006, J.Crew re-launched its children’s line, Crew Cuts. 2006 also marked the year they launched a more casual line of clothing called Madewell. Madewell has ten brick-and-mortar stores in the United States, but unlike J Crew, Madewell does not sell online.

The unique feature about J.Crew is that unlike many of its competitors (e.g. Ann Taylor and Banana Republic), while J Crew also sells to jurisdictions outside of the United States, delivering to Japan and Canada; there are no brick-and-mortar J.Crew stores in either country as of 2008.

J.Crew is also somewhat size-friendly. They launched a petite line in the mid 90s, which fits women 5’4″ or shorter. They also have tall sizes. That said, both specialty sizes have very limited, classical styles focusing mostly on office-wear. Specialty sizes are also available for some pieces in their wedding line.

J.Crew also has a more luxurious line, J.Crew Collections. These are limited edition items, which include accessories, selling at more upscale prices, sometimes into the four figures. Until this month, the J.Crew Collections was only available online. The first brick-and-mortar Collections store opened in Manhattan’s Upper East Side last week. J.Crew Collections does not make clothes in “specialty sizes.”

On October 21, J.Crew’s stocks opened at 18.26 and closed at 18.39. Its 52-week high is 51.96 and 52-week low is 17.11.

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this column is not to give financial advice or analysis, but to highlight how these companies affect our every day lives.