Friday, January 23, 2009

The First Family Helps J.Crew Stock {wahoo!}

As {almost} everyone is aware of by now, the Obama's each wore an item from J.Crew at some point during the inauguration. The {great} image above, which comes from Racked (click here for post), illustrates this point beautifully. :)

As many of you mentioned, J.Crew's shares jumped more than 10% as a result of the increased exposure. As someone who owns their stock, I am t-h-r-i-l-l-e-d. My only hope is that this positive trend can and will continue. ;)

Shares Jump More Than 10 Percent In Trading

January 22, 2009

Click here for post link

Shares of J.Crew Group Inc. jumped after news spread that the first family donned items from the retailer during this week's inauguration.


President Barack Obama wore a J.Crew white satin bow tie to all the Inaugural Balls Tuesday night. First lady Michelle Obama wore J.Crew gloves, a sweater and skirt from the company to different events. And daughters Malia and Sasha wore coats, dresses and other items from the retailer to various occasions celebrating their father's inauguration.


While the items were made specifically for the Obamas, J.Crew said customers can see highlights or similar items in upcoming seasons.
Shares of J.Crew jumped 96 cents, more than 10 percent, in trading Wednesday to close at $9.99.

What do you think of the jump in J.Crew's stock price? Do you think this will have a long term, positive effect on J.Crew? In order to capitalize on the recognition, do you think this will finally prompt J.Crew to fix that website of theirs? ;)

40 comments:

  1. Verrrry interesting, Alexis! Thanks for the post! Husband is looking at investing in some stock this week- I might have to nudge him in this direction a little bit?

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  2. I think this is just temporary. The American public was interested for a day or two but the interest wanned when the items were not immediately for sale. JCrew really missed the boat on this one--they should have had stock ready to go to sell. The economy is still in bad shape so this increase won't last.

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  3. Well, it helps J.Crew shareholders.

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  4. I have had 2 items from 2 different orders cancelled this week. I am so sick of JCrew not having their ordering system in working order. I have shopped at JCrew for over 8 years and I maybe had 2 items cancelled in all that time. Now 2 in one week. I am so mad!!!!!

    If this continues, new shoppers won't put up with this...I know I wouldn't if I was new to JCrew.

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  5. Anon 4.56: Were they FS items? If they were there could have been 6 orders for the same items within a short period of time. That is the risk of final sale.

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  6. Great news for J.Crew shareholders! :)

    It really sometimes seems as if they have no intention of fixing the website. Seven months is REALLY a long time to have it so significantly messed up. Hard to believe Mickey hasn't brought in someone to fix it once and for all...maybe he will now...

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  7. I hope Mickey saw the "Stay Tuned" sign posted on NBC News the other night, NBC said it was due to the Obamas chidren wearing JC clothes, maybe that will motivate him to fix the website, so it can accomodate higher demand at peak periods.

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  8. Sorry Anony@6:08

    I don't buy that...been shopping final sale for 8 years and not had these cancelled issues. Sometimes/MANY times in fact there was only one left and I would get it no problems...it is due to their crappy new system.

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  9. I doubt their stock will continue to rise until we are out of the recession/depression. This is just a blip. I own their stock as well so I'd like it to rise, but for now I'm just sitting on it :)

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  10. I believe there were a number of stocks that had brief rallies after the inauguration. And some of them surely were not related to the outfits as they were not retail stocks.

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  11. I have purchased so many (too many, really) things over the past three months and I have not had a single item cancelled. I mentioned in a post yesterday that my order of 21 items, some of which are highly coveted and I stalked for some time, was shipped in entirety. It hasn't arrived so I can't say the order is perfect, but I have not had the order issues that others have experienced.

    Every order that has arrived in my 10+ years shopping with J.Crew has contained all the items that were stated as shipped and nothing was damaged or appeared worn. I guess I have "shopping luck". God knows I don't have "parking luck" or "win-something luck" so at least I have some kind of luck.

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  12. Anony@9:03

    You are lucky. I recieved a blazer with a stain on the elbow and dirt ringing the entire right cuff. It was a disgrace! I have had several worn and defective items sent to me. Maybe you don't order as often as I do but I am so sick of JCrew not checking its return goods. I have also recieved defective new goods. Once I had 3/5 items defective in an order.

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  13. P.S. I have also ordered a ladies sweater (back in 2006) and got a men's sweater instead. Same thing happened again a year later...got the entirely wrong item.

    Also, got two bikini tops once instead of a top and bottom. Really poor.

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  14. What an embarrassment for Mickey. To have your website failures on the evening news!! Maybe this will be the bug in his trousers that he needs to fix the problem. Everything "American" went up after the inauguration. I live in England and the Dollar went up 10 cents against the Pound minutes after Obama’s speech. However, it is slowly going down again just like everything else. I think that JCrew will get more popular and there will be some people who still have more disposable income and will be able to buy JC at full price, but the majority of Americans that visited the JC website for the first time this week will probably be scared away by the prices. For example: I have to order on-line for obvious reasons and I wanted to return some items that my sister upon opening said were clown bright so she graciously took them to her nearest JC store for return. When she got back she called to tell me how crazy I am for shopping at such an expensive store and that she would never pay 49.00 for a tee shirt and 180.00 for a sweater. She doesn’t know the JC sale secrets that I know, so she doesn’t understand, nor does she have the patience to “stalk” the website like all us JCA do. So my point, after too much rambling is, most of these JC newbies will take one look at the prices and run the other way. Because lets face it, JC full price IS a joke.

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  15. Anony@9:03-
    Out of curiosity- what items did you order? 21 things, what a haul!

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  16. I can't believe that ANY retail stock, much less JC's, is going to go up this year. I think this is completely temporary, unfortunately. When I checked the market about 30 minutes ago, it was already down 130+ points, down in the 7,900+ range. Depressing...

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  17. I ordered 25 items with the TURKEY code and they never arrived. They charged me for them but somehow forgot to ship them out. By the time JC figured out what happened, most of what I wanted was sold out in my size. Then it took 14 phone calls to get a refund!! I must be a glutton for punishment because I have since ordered many more things, thanksfully they all arrived safely.

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  18. I just think it's really cute that the whole first family is decking themselves out in J Crew :)

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  19. Well, pretty much the whole stock market went up a little. It's post-inauguration optimism.

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  20. Jeff, you seem so bitter towards the Obama administration...Why is that??

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  21. I'm Anony 9:03

    I order from J.Crew about twice a month on average. I have always bought items on FS because there are some great deals. I get the occasional lemon, but usually only 1 item a year and I do order a lot. I just donate the lemon to charity as it is most often something that was drastically reduced, so no big loss. The majority of my wardrobe is J.Crew, the rest mainly from Neiman's, Sak's and some boutiques.

    Here are the 21 items I ordered that are listed as shipped, the first five are for my husband and son:
    Men's peacoat with thinsulate
    Men's university coat with thinsulate
    Men's flannel-lined camp pants
    Men's flannel-lined chinos
    Men's cotton-cashmere crewneck

    Nicky skirt
    Shimmy dress
    Double-serge skirt in bronzed ochre
    Buttery twill cargo
    Matchstick jeans
    Tartine cardigan
    Shearling-lined moccasins
    Crackle-metallic Mary Janes
    Stretch ponte ruffle shift dress
    Travel trench
    Janelle sweater
    Shearling earmuffs
    Shearling gloves
    Portland cardigan
    Bistro pant
    Large Oslo bag

    I had been stalking the shearling items, buttery twill cargo, janelle sweater, shimmy dress, the missing double-serge (got all the other colors), the large Oslo and some of the mens items and luckily, they came back for me and at significant deals, especially with the 20% discount. ;-)

    I read the negative reviews on the large Oslo and bought it anyway. My SIL uses her Oslo as a duffel bag and I intend to do the same. Occasionally I need to take day trips to the site on our corporate jet and I will love having the Oslo as my valise.

    My husband tried the peacoat on in store and said it was OK, if the price was better so I was just waiting for that deal. Getting the university coat for my son on sale was a bonus. Most of what I ordered is not really that exciting or daring. If an item I want is reduced by a reasonable amount, I will buy. I don't wait until it is almost a giveaway. Maybe that is why I have "shopping luck".

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  22. Anon @ 10:44 AM
    Jeff said nothing about Obama in his post. Stop trying to start another political argument. Leave the regulars alone.

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  23. There have been a couple of anons who have been shit disturbing lately and it is getting tiresome to read their nasty comments directed toward regular contributors to this blog.

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  24. The interest in the Obama "Crew" connection is definitely not waning. Rather, people are connecting Michelle with J.Crew given her multiple appearances in our pieces over the campaign and now during inauguration (just try googling Obama and J.Crew).

    The website crashed due to interest in the product...and having that fact out in public on the news has enticed people into the stores.

    I can't think of a negative thing to say about this for the company. But of course, there are people on this site who can ALWAYS come up with something negative to say.

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  25. The website crashed because it cannot handle the demand whether it turkey, hoho, or the interested generated by the Obamas girls outfits. That is not negative it is fact.

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  26. jcrewmommy, I think part of it is the recent topics, which are interesting, but have political nature. People are going to comment, just by the nature of the post and it won't all be good.

    Unfortunate, definitely. I skip over it and as one blogger put it, "don't feed the trolls".

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  27. jcrewmommy: Great post, I couldn't agree with you more.

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  28. My recent thoughts on JCrew...I am 30 years old and can remember getting my first JCrew items when I was about 11 years old (I am tall and was tall then)...so I have been shopping there forever.
    1. I am very excited to find new and different items that are more interesting than basics.
    2. I am disgusted with some of the quality of some items - super thin materials and chintzy cuts. When a sweater says "hits at hip" it shouldn't hit at waist. I can usually spot these items from the pic or from descriptions and avoid them. Sometimes items are sized very very wrong, like a tank I ordered last month that was a size L, my usual size, about about 5 or 6 inches too wide. I could have worn a small and I am not small.
    3. I am tired of cotton sweaters in 14 gauge knit. It's so thin you have to count on wearing a cami beneath, and I don't always want to do that.
    4. I am sick and tired of the website issues. There is ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE for it. We live in an information age and I just think it's pathetic that JC doesn't have these issues corrected.
    5. I am tired of how few new items JC seems to be posting recently.
    6. I am tired of the prices. When we KNOW something is going to go on sale, and there will be promotioins, why pay full price? More people would buy if they lowered price points just by $10-$20 in my opinion.
    7. Final sale SUCKS. I will not buy anything final sale unless it is a double of something I already own and I know it fits.
    8. I do love JCrew suits, esp because I am tall and must buy tall, and I can buy a separate size in jacket and pants.
    9. I am not a fan of JCrew swimwear. None of the tops are very supportive (which could easily be corrected with some side boning). Lots of the bottoms give me "diaper butt" and I have seen that many others have this issue on other message boards, so I know it's not me.
    10. I love many of the silk dresses and think they are a great value (e.g., the silk Sophia). Bravo on this one, JC. My bridesmaids wore it.
    11. Most JCrew shoes suck, in my opinion. I refuse to a) pay JC prices for cloth shoes; or b) pay JC prices for leather shoes that have absolutely no padding or support. I do have a pair of driving mocs that I love.
    12. I will keep shopping JCrew but I am cutting back - a LOT.

    This ends my commentary.

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  29. hey Anon @ 3:14 PM, see link below:

    http://jcrewaficionada.blogspot.com/search/label/website%20down

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  30. I would love to buy JCrew stock one day... I'm learning more about the stock market in general now

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  31. Anon 5:01 - several good points, but what exactly is "diaper butt"?

    I love J.Crew swimwear. I'm large (D cup) on top and have no problem with support, but I wear athletic suits if I'm going to play beach volleyball or watersports. Some of my J.Crew bikini tops have underwire or boning so I'm not sure what styles you are buying, but there are options available with support.

    I like that I can mix and match the colors and styles and my husband loves the suits I wear and the men's swimwear as well. We take as many resort vacations as we can each year and spend summer at the lake cottage so I'm wearing swimsuits a lot and I have no complaints with J.Crew swim.

    I also have Roxy, Anne Cole and Calvin Klein suits, and J.Crew is among the best I've found.

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  32. Two of my favorites....J.Crew and the Obamas :)

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  33. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  34. Anon 5:07PM-

    I comprehend that the site has been down more often than say, just on inauguration day, but...I have to post a hypothesis...

    Has anyone started to look at what days/times the site crashes to come up with a common theme?

    I.E. If it is semi-public knowledge (ironically becoming MORE public due to the very publicity of sites such as this) that J.Crew does markdowns on Tuesday, and everyone who is looking for markdowns starts haunting the site on Tuesday a.m., then...are WE who are complaining actually causing the crash?

    Hence...J.Crew's poplarity is causing its own technical difficulties. And, there are limitations to any site...particularly a site for shopping that is not claiming to be technologically "more saavy than the next site"...

    I have had a glass of wine or two, but I just can't blame J.Crew for not having the world's best website. They already have the world's best fashions.

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  35. Ok seriously...how much do you people really go on the site b/c yeah I've seen the crashes but they are just temporary...and unless you sit on the darn site all freaking day they are really not that big of a deal.
    I may sound negative but I'm actually trying to look at the positive...you guys need to chill out.

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  36. ^ Sounds like you need to take a happy pill this am. Next time don't be so rude.

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  37. Anon @ 10:15 PM
    It is unfortunate, though, as I can't remember hearing of the old site crashing ONCE.

    This actually might be the perfect time to really get it taken care of, though. Crew wouldn't want to have multiple instances of Obama popularity causing site crashes. If that happens, media attention may start to focus on the site more (as in 'the Obama daughters crashed the site again - what's up with their web site?').

    Anon @ 11:17 PM
    I suspect it would be a bigger deal to you if you'd lost items in an order, were overcharged, had your shopping cart emptied, etc. these occurances can be tied to the upgrade, too.

    all of this said, I'm glad the stock is doing better...

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  38. Anon @ 5:01

    I agree with many of your points. I definitely have no incentive to buy anything full price since I know that it's going to go on sale. If the price points were at least $20-30 (IMO) lower, I'd be more compelled to buy but until then...I'll wait till the sale.

    As for the FS items, I've only recently gotten interested (obsessed) with Jcrew so their no exchange/return policy leaves me quite hesitant. I've ordered 2 pairs of their chinos and they were HUGE! I followed the size chart and measured everything like I was supposed to. I don't have a JCrew in my town so I can't readily go try on different sizes. I have several pairs of their cords in size 27 and they fit very well. On their size chart - 27 = sz 2 and I ordered 2s in the Chinos and they were HUGE. and sooo baggy. Luckily, I was able to return the ridiculously baggy chinos to a Jcrew in another town. I'm really looking for some comfy chinos (tired of wearing jeans all the time to school) and I like the quality of Jcrew chinos but I'm nervous about ordering them! Any advice?

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  39. charlotte, if you're not sure about sizing, try ordering some of the different styles online when they are reduced, but not Final Sale. J.Crew offers some standard styles year after year so you would be able to order them in the right size when they do go on sale. It's not going to help you with FS today, but maybe in the future. The sizing was so inconsistent last year, you're taking a gamble with FS even if you have bought their chinos for years.

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  40. Hi jcrewmommy! It's so great to see you post again! I do hope you'll continue to do so, and I hope life has been going well for you these past months, too! :) Have a wonderful evening!

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