J.Crew Value Proposition:

From it’s humble roots as a catalogue mailer offering clean cut all American apparel, J.Crew has developed into a cutting edge fashion brand. Today, they deliver consumers affordable, quality and chic clothing through 285 retail stores, 99 factory locations, a catalogue and an e-commerce site. 

J.Crew has become known for their use of color, pattern and texture applied to updated classics. They understands that the customer must always come first whether it be when designing their garments or the in-store experience. They mimic this quality product and service through all channels of their business.

Their philosophy is simple, "great product, great service at a great price."

SCM

•Through a Responsible Sourcing program J.Crew creates great relations with all of their vendors whether big or small.

•J.Crew hopes to leverage these relationships in order to improve environmental impact and SCM.

•In 2011, J.Crew surveyed their manufacturers as to what is currently being done to save energy and water and reduce waste.

•CEO Mickey Drexler controls the supply chain extremely tightly. He prefers to meet all manufactures in person and inspect their product to ensure quality.

•In 2012, the company invested $125 million dollars with CapEx to improve their supply chain infrastructure.

•This included increasing the size of their distribution centers in Lynchburg, Virginia and Asheville, Pennsylvania, expand shipping capabilities to 106 countries and improving inventory management.

•J.Crew sources goods from hundreds of countries, including leather and cashmere from Italy, shirting fabric from Britain and knits from France.

•Though some of their goods are produced in the same country that the materials are sourced, many are produced elsewhere including, Mauritius, China and India.

•These goods are shipped directly from the manufactures to the distribution centers. The goods are then sorted and distributed to stores or used to fulfill online orders.

•Once a customer places a direct order  (phone or web), warehouse employees begin packing it within 20 minutes. 

CRM

•Customers can web chat with “Personal Stylists” on the site.

•Returning customers can log into their account to be greeted by their name, check order status/history, change shipping/billing addresses and request catalogues.

•When consumers open a product page, J.Crew suggests other items you may like.

•Consumers can see the popularity of an item based on the number of pins and likes which are featured on the page.

•The company offers flat rate 8.95 shipping and free returns to stores or web.

•Customers can open a J.Crew credit card which allows the company to track consumers spending and offers consumers perks such as $25 for every $500 they spend.

•J.Crew posts look books and marketing on their homepage which consumers can shop directly from.

•Consumers can add items to their shopping cart and those items will remain there as long as the product is available or until the customer checks out. 

Brand Awareness

•J. Crew operates 333 retail stores in United States.

•In 2011 J.Crew opened their only present international door located in Canada.

•The company ships to over 100 countries and has increased their customer following thanks to this.

•80 million copies of the J.Crew Style Guide are distributed each year.

•The brand sells products on net-a-porter.com which has also increased their international brand awareness.

Customer Behavior and Attitudes

•J.Crew website receives about 3,310,614 visits per month.

•Their website is connected to their Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pintrest. This allows consumers to share and view their favorite products and feedback.

•J.Crew’s Facebook page has 1,000,782 likes. 

•J.Crew has a cult following of people who are dedicated to their look and brand. This obsession has become a hit blog called the J.Crew Aficionado .

Market Segmentation:

•J. Crew offers men, women and children apparel and accessories.

•Due to their small international presence, the majority of site traffic is derived from US traffic.