Flush with the success of its line of wedding attire, J. Crew is getting ready to take the next step. The high-end preppie apparel company, which hopes to raise $200 million with its initial public offering filed in August, next year plans to debut a children’s line of clothing dubbed crewcuts.
The line will be aimed at children ages 2 to 8 and include clothing with argyle patterns, embroidered critters, and cable knits, the New York-based company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “We intend to market the crewcuts line initially through our existing sales channels and may consider separate crewcuts retail stores in the future,” the company said.
J. Crew also plans to open 15-25 stores in 2006, and expand by 25 to 35 stores annually thereafter, according to the filing. “We will look to open new stores predominantly in affluent markets where we have demonstrated strong direct sales,” the company said.
As previously reported, J. Crew also plans to launch a discounted apparel Website at JcrewFactory.com by the end of the year.