Dive Brief:

• J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler on Saturday sent out an email to customers with a little small talk, an appeal to check out its latest apparel and an invitation to write to him personally at [email protected] with any feedback, Racked reports.

• The overture is the latest move by Drexler to take ownership of mistakes that have alienated even the retailer's most ardent fans; last year he admitted the company had “got sloppy.” 

• J. Crew last month reported improved results, thanks largely to cost-cutting efforts. Its Q4 same-store sales decreased 4%, compared to a 3% drop at the same time last year. Total revenues increased 1% to $711 million. 

Dive Insight:

A major storyline in J.Crew’s fall from grace is the alienation of loyal customers who were willing to pay more for its classic designs and who kept favorite J.Crew items in their closets for decades. Some consumers noted that while J.Crew's apparel quality appears to have declined, the price tags haven’t followed suit.

“It’s sad because it’s a brand I love,” one customer told the Wall Street Journal last spring. “I feel a little bit lost as to where I would even shop now.” 

That’s a terrible story to have to tell, and Drexel responded swiftly to those reports, saying last year "The love our customers have for us is extraordinary. I think we clearly got sloppy when you miss the fundamentals that you need to have."

Still, with cost cutting the focus at J.Crew right now, elevating quality could be difficult. And while in the past J.Crew customers were willing to pay more for better, the company’s more frequent sales events may have conditioned many shoppers to wait for price breaks.

Then there’s J. Crew's focus on its better-performing but lower-priced Madewell and Mercantile brands, a scenario recalling Gap Inc.’s launch of its Old Navy brand. While for years Old Navy was seen as a stroke of genius and a success story, the flagship Gap brand suffered as Old Navy grew. Of course, Old Navy was the brainchild of one Mickey Drexler when he led Gap Inc.

Drexler is betting that customer outreach can help revive J. Crew's fortunes. In his weekend email to customers, he said he a shopper recently told him that the J.Crew she loves "is back," and asked customers to visit J. Crew's stores or its website to see the improvements for themselves. Drexler also encouraged shoppers to email comments directly to his account.