J. Crew Group CEO Libby Wadle’s relationship with the iconic American retailer began long before her ascent to the corner office—and even before she joined the workforce.
“I bought my first interview suit at a J. Crew,” Wadle told Kristin Stoller at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit on Wednesday. She didn’t get the job, but Wadle added: “I remember the fabric, I remember the experience, and that is still resonant today.”
Now, Wadle wants to continue to build momentum at the retailer as it recovers from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy during the pandemic. Wadle became chief executive in November 2020 after 16 years at the company, having previously held multiple leadership positions, most notably as the first CEO of J. Crew’s largely successful brand Madewell.
Since becoming CEO, she’s led the company to improved profitability, driven high-talent acquisition to revamp product design, and returned the legacy retailer to its casual roots to win back customers and redefine itself in a crowded market.
She’s now aiming to build on those wins by reconnecting emotionally with customers by capitalizing on the brand’s timeless appeal and tapping into customer nostalgia.
“There’s this sort of authenticity piece that all of the generations care about,” Wadle said. “Being a brand that has references back to almost a better time or a nostalgic time … That’s a common connection, I think, for all the generations.”
As another generation looks to buy their first interview suits, Wadle says J. Crew is finding “those moments of resonance” to appeal to customers of all ages.
“It really cuts across multigenerations [and] has been critical for us,” Wadle said. “It’s not just about one generation. It’s really about connecting and finding that commonality with all.”
New collaborations
That’s also part of the logic behind J. Crew’s collaboration with U.S. Ski & Snowboard ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, since sports is “a time that we can all get together,” Wadle said.
“We’re not a performance brand,” she acknowledged. But “for us, we’re a multigenerational brand, and skiing and snowboarding is really a multigenerational sport.”
Wadle also harkened back to J. Crew’s longtime love of the après-ski aesthetic.
“We do have a heritage, certainly slope-side,” Wadle said. “There’s a lot of DNA there.”
The retailer partnered with USA Swimming last summer in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, which fueled a 10% spike in new customers year over year in the first week and a double-digit increase in its web traffic.
So far, the Winter Olympics collaboration has been rosy. Wadle said she and Sophie Goldschmidt, president and CEO of U.S. Ski & Snowboard, have already started brainstorming about “life after the Olympic Games.”
“We’re excited about what we could be doing next, and how it could sort of give a platform to both of your businesses,” Wadle said.
