Ex-Gap king looks to do it again

MILLARD 'Mickey' Drexler, who made clothes chain Gap into a global franchise, is taking the helm of J Crew, a small US fashion retailer that looks a lot like Gap did in its early years.

J Crew, known for its trendy, high-quality clothes, is an upmarket catalogue and online retailer popular with young professionals and suburban parents. It has fewer than 200 retail stores, a fraction of the 4300 Drexler used to manage during his two-decade reign at Gap, which owns Old Navy and Banana Republic.

Drexler and venture capitalist Texas Pacific, a major J Crew shareholder, are putting $10m (£6.2m ) into the niche retailer. The company's revenue rose 5.9% to $132m over the Christmas period but same-store sales dropped and profits suffered as the retailer drove sales higher with steep price discounts.

Drexler retired as chief executive of Gap last May after the company suffered many months of sales declines. Sales recently began to turn around as a result of changes he put into place before retiring.