J.Crew discontinues bridal line

By

Kate Dingwall

Published
Nov 6, 2016

Friday morning, J. Crew announced that they will no longer be selling wedding dresses. They will be filling the gap left by the wedding dresses by bringing in a wider range of party dresses.

As reported by the fashion press, the cost to produce the dresses was too high, and the brand did not want to reduce the quality of the dresses to make up for the high cost. The brand itself has not yet commented on its decision.

Over the past few years, J.Crew  has experienced significant drop in sales, with a 9% drop last quarter. In the first quarter of this fiscal year, the retailer's sales slipped under $500 million for the first time in years. J. Crew has experienced an 8% and 10% decrease over this year and last year, respectively. The retailer has specifically been struggling with moving their womenswear merchandise, which may be attributed to the frequent complaints that their price point is too high. On the other hand, their sister brand Madewell, which has a lower price point, has seen its profits grow exponentially over the past few quarters.

The company first started selling bridal offerings in 2004. J. Crew was one of the first non-bridal retailers to carry bridal dresses. From 2004 to 2010, J. Crew sold both bridesmaid dresses and wedding gowns via their online e-commerce site. In 2010, the retailer opened up a bridal-specific brick-and-mortar store on Madison Avenue in New York City. 

Currently, the brand is signifcantly discounting the price of all bridesmaids and wedding dresses on its e-commerce website.