Millard Drexler

Millard "Mickey" S. Drexler (b. August 17, 1944), the current chairman and CEO of J.Crew Group and formerly the CEO of Gap Inc. He has been a director at Apple Inc. since 1999.

He studied at the Bronx High School of Science, City College of New York, and University of Buffalo. He received a master-of-arts degree from Boston University Graduate School of Management.

In the mid-1970s, Drexler was a merchandising vice-president and fashion director at Abraham & Straus in Brooklyn, New York, which was then a new addition to Federated. He has also worked at Ann Taylor, Bloomingdale's, and Macy's.

Gap

Drexler is often credited with Gap's meteoric rise during the 1990s. Until then Gap had been a relatively small chain selling private and public brands. Under Drexler the company made a dramatic shift to private brand merchandise and expanded rapidly to become an iconic part of 90's pop culture. Television advertisements featuring young models and catchy music such as "Mellow Yellow" and "Dress Me Up In Your Love" came to epitomize the relaxed American casual look that Gap was all about.

On May 22, 2002, however, Drexler was abruptly fired by Gap founder Donald Fisher.^[1]

J. Crew

The J.Crew Group (NYSE: JCG), an American clothing and accessories retailer based in New York City, founded in 1983 with the launch of its catalog and expanded into brick-and-mortar retailing in 1989 with its first store at the South Street Seaport in New York City. J. Crew quickly hired Drexler after his abrupt departure from Gap. Drexler has sought in his role of CEO to reposition the J. Crew brand as a truly upscale boutique. What was once a moderately priced, American, dressy-casual brand is quickly becoming an upscale, dressy-vintage American brand with "frills included".

Madewell

Front of a J.Crew outlet store

In May 2006, J.Crew CEO Millard Drexler, announced plans to launch a chain of casual stores in August under the name Madewell. The name comes from a former workwear company based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Madewell will be a separate company from J.Crew.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

External links

• Official J.Crew Website
• J.Crew Push Back IPO
• The Motley Fool: A J.Crew Review
• Official Madewell website
• J.Crew's Mickey Drexler Responds to the J.Crew Aficionada Blog
• An Email to Mickey Drexler from JCrewAholics

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