J. Crew announced that the company will be closing 39 stores by the end of January, which is nearly double the number it originally planned to close.
Sales have been falling for J.Crew, with the company reporting that sales at its shops which were open for at least a year fell 12 percent this quarter, according to CNN. J.Crew also lost $161 million in the first nine months of the year, which the company blamed on its dramatic transformation plan that laid off 250 people.
Things have been bad at J.Crew for awhile now. Last November the company shuttered its bridal section and this April former creative director and president Jenna Lyons stepped down from her position after 26 years with the company. I bet if you’ve walked into a J.Crew recently you might be able to see this identity crisis at work, considering every time I walk in, every item seems to be a paper-thin cardigan that looks like it will fall apart after three wears.
Retail in general is unsurprisingly horrible right now as companies continue to scale back. Stores like the Gap, Sears, American Eagle, Guess and pretty much all your favorite mall staples have cut back this year and closed stores. And there are many reasons for 2017’s retail-apocalypse, but one thing’s for sure: it’s pushing us aggressively towards an online-only shopping future.
I’m not looking forward to it. I like trying things on in stores and actually finding out in person when something is an itchy poly-blend, which would have otherwise gone unnoticed in a well-styled photo (because the internet is sorcery.) But, hey, if the idea of receiving new sneakers every six months by drone appeals to you, then you have a lot to look forward to.