Mickey Drexler’s back in business.
The seasoned retail veteran has been named chairman and CEO of J. Crew, ending his short sabbatical from the business, after retiring from the Gap, Inc. last fall.
The former chairman and CEO will also make a $10 million personal capital investment in the company, in the form of an exchangeable debt instrument.
The investment is just a drop in the bucket for Drexler, who last fall, sold 11 million shares of Gap stock, generating about $130 million. The executive still holds more than 13 million shares in the Gap.
Drexler has already started assembling his new team at J. Crew. Former Gap executive, Jeff Pfeifle has been named president of J. Crew. Pfeifle most recently served as executive vice-president – product and design at Old Navy, though he’s had stints at both Banana Republic and Polo Ralph Lauren.
Drexler’s choice of Pfeifle makes sense, given the direction J. Crew has been going. Todd Slater, retail analyst at Lazard Freres who covers J. Crew’s competition, said Drexler will “upscale” the business. “J. Crew is a terrific brand with good consumer awareness,” Slater explained. “To fix the business, he’ll have to regain the core customers. There’s plenty of precedents (of retail come-backs), but it’s not going to be a layup.”