J CREW HIRES MICHAEL NICHOLSON AS PRESIDENT; ANNOUNCES DISAPPOINTING THIRD-QUARTER RESULTS

Retail giant J. Crew Group has announced the hiring of Michael J. Nicholson as president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, effective January 11, 2016. He will lead J.Crew’s finance, global supply chain, sourcing, IT, real estate, asset management and investment management functions and report into J.Crew’s Chairman and CEO, Millard Drexler. Nicholson was most recently executive vice president, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, and treasurer of ANN INC.

On Thursday, December 3, the company also released its third-quarter results. Total revenues decreased 6% to $619.4 million. Comparable company sales decreased 11% following a decrease of 2% in the third quarter last year Operating loss was $808.5 million compared to $636.3 million in the third quarter last year.

On the plus side, sales of its Madwelll division increased 14% to $78.7 million. Madewell comparable sales increased 1% following an increase of 13% in the third quarter last year.

“While fiscal 2015 has been challenging, we have seen an encouraging response to our recent product and merchandising strategies,” said Drexler. “Our team is focused on having a successful holiday season and we continue to execute on our plans to deliver improved performance over the longer term.”