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J. Crew opens online vintage watch shop

TheGreekPhysique
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https://www.jcrew.com/plp/mens/categories/accessories/watches-and-jewelry

I came across the news yesterday. It appears J. Crew has gotten into the vintage watch game with most of their inventory online being supplied by Analog Shift. To my knowledge (very limited) it is the first time a clothing retailer has made the jump into this space.

What are your guys thoughts on this. Do you believe this is a new trend and more companies will follow? If that's the case it will be interesting to see what "watch dealers" these retailers will team up with and the competition that will ensue.

Or do you believe this will be a failed experiment and after a few months things will carry on as normal?
 
Foo2rama
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Looks like it is Analog Shift doing it.

Hodinkee was doing this for someone for awhile.
 
Dan S
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Somehow I don't see many people going to J. Crew to buy a 5-figure vintage watch.
 
JwRosenthal
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Dan S Dan S
Somehow I don't see many people going to J. Crew to buy a 5-figure vintage watch.
You would be surprised. They have done collaborations with major brands like Belstaff, Alden & Redwing for many years. Someone paying $1.3k for a leather jacket, $500 for a pair of boots and $700 for shell cordovan wingtips won’t have an issue with $10k for a watch.
 
TheGreekPhysique
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
You would be surprised. They have done collaborations with major brands like Belstaff, Alden & Redwing for many years. Someone paying $1.3k for a leather jacket, $500 for a pair of boots and $700 for shell cordovan wingtips won’t have an issue with $10k for a watch.

I agree with you completely.

I use to shop at J. Crew a lot. Their style - preppy or whatever you want to call it - is definitely me. But over the last few years their clothes have gotten REALLY expensive so I stopped. (I also don't need more clothes)

But offering high end vintage watches not only fits their style but is also in line with how expensive their clothes have gotten.
 
gbesq
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I took a quick look at their very limited inventory. Nothing there at the moment that interests me. I don't see this succeeding if the primary market audience is intended to be vintage watch collectors. For young professionals who don't mind overpaying for everything, clothing and vintage watches included, perhaps J.Crew is on to something, but given that the company filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in 2020, I'm not impressed with their business acumen.
 
TheGreekPhysique
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gbesq gbesq
I took a quick look at their very limited inventory. Nothing there at the moment that interests me. I don't see this succeeding if the primary market audience is intended to be vintage watch collectors. For young professionals who don't mind overpaying for everything, clothing and vintage watches included, perhaps J.Crew is on to something.

Yea definitely not for the vintage watch collectors but I could see this working for the people who are casually into watches (couple of friends come to mind) who want the convenience of selecting from a curated inventory that is already authenticated and offers secured payment options.

As for the selection I would totally love/rock this DJ:

https://www.jcrew.com/p/mens/catego...r_name=stainless-steel&colorProductCode=N2903

Looks beautiful! 1601/03 DJ's on bracelets seem to be going for around ~5.7k. The latter 16233/4 going for a bit more. This having an uncommon tapestry dial would probably command a premium. That being said: yes still overpriced but in line with what I imagine their competitors would be like Bob's and Hodinkee.
 
timoss
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I think it’s more about enhancing the image they want to project more than it is about selling watches.
 
Dan S
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timoss timoss
I think it’s more about enhancing the image they want to project more than it is about selling watches.

That's an interesting point. I just googled, and J. Crew has $2.5B in annual revenues. Clearly they can't scale vintage watch sales in a way that would have any impact on their bottom line. I can't imagine that Analog-Shift's entire annual revenue is more than a few million USD.
 
JwRosenthal
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Dan S Dan S
That's an interesting point. I just googled, and J. Crew has $2.5B in annual revenues. Clearly they can't scale vintage watch sales in a way that would have any impact on their bottom line. I can't imagine that Analog-Shift's entire annual revenue is more than a few million USD.
Yeah, it’s about pairing with another lifestyle brand. Gotta have that vintage tool
watch, Pendleton shirt, Filson coat, redwing boots, and skinny JCrew chinos for whatever adventure you may encounter at the cubifarm office complex.
 
bombaywalla
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
You would be surprised. They have done collaborations with major brands like Belstaff, Alden & Redwing for many years. Someone paying $1.3k for a leather jacket, $500 for a pair of boots and $700 for shell cordovan wingtips won’t have an issue with $10k for a watch.
i tend to agree with this -- they are selling a "life-style" image more than anything else. it's not really the watch that these young people want rather the image that it portrays....
 
Darlinboy
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timoss timoss
I think it’s more about enhancing the image they want to project more than it is about selling watches.
This - pure marketing.

Analog Shift will benefit far more than J. Crew from a revenue/business impact standpoint. Rounding error for J. Crew.
 
JwRosenthal
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TheGreekPhysique TheGreekPhysique
I agree with you completely.

I use to shop at J. Crew a lot. Their style - preppy or whatever you want to call it - is definitely me. But over the last few years their clothes have gotten REALLY expensive so I stopped. (I also don't need more clothes)

But offering high end vintage watches not only fits their style but is also in line with how expensive their clothes have gotten.
I think this is partly why they have gotten into financial trouble. We (young urban professionals) were their target market for decades. I shopped JCrew when I was in college and starting in my career. Their clothes were upscale looking, fit well, were well constructed and most importantly-marginally affordable. They have tried to go for a more upmarket hipster clientele but at the cost of their base- always a risk.
It worked for Abercrombie & Fitch back in the mid 90’s which rebranded from a stuffy mens clothier and outdoorsman’s outfitter (yes, I still have several A&F ties, a field jacket and a duffel coat and they made some of the best leather goods for hunting and fishing you could buy) to a young teen fashion brand…and it was a massive success for them.
 
kaapstadflaneur
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J.Crew is late to the vintage watch game. Other men's clothing retailers in the same market bracket jumped into the vintage watch game years ago. For example, J. Press (from whom J. Crew stole their image and ripped off their name) and Todd Snyder have been selling vintage watches (at vastly inflated prices) at their physical retail stores for years. I don't foresee this being a major game-changer for J. Crew (whose clothes I happen to like, especially the Wallace & Barnes sub-line). In any event, this is a sign of the times as watches go more mainstream.
 
TheGreekPhysique
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
I think this is partly why they have gotten into financial trouble. We (young urban professionals) were their target market for decades. I shopped JCrew when I was in college and starting in my career. Their clothes were upscale looking, fit well, were well constructed and most importantly-marginally affordable. They have tried to go for a more upmarket hipster clientele but at the cost of their base- always a risk.
It worked for Abercrombie & Fitch back in the mid 90’s which rebranded from a stuffy mens clothier and outdoorsman’s outfitter (yes, I still have several A&F ties, a field jacket and a duffel coat and they made some of the best leather goods for hunting and fishing you could buy) to a young teen fashion brand…and it was a massive success for them.

Thats interesting I have only ever known A&F as a teen fashion brand. I actually remember some story in the news about them shaming an overweight person saying something along the lines of that wasnt the image they were trying to portray so I stopped supporting them.

As for J. Crew I liked them a lot. I have an all cashmere sweater I grabbed off of the clearance rack for lik 20-30 bucks years ago and that thing fits like a glove. They were made great and out of the other stores I liked the style of like original penguin, brooks, polo etc they were on the cheaper side but still made great quality. Although I must say their factory/outlet store is not the same thing. Even years ago the quality has always been garbage in my experience.
 
Dan S
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TheGreekPhysique TheGreekPhysique
Thats interesting I have only ever known A&F as a teen fashion brand..

Heuer-Seafarer-Gear-Patrol-Lead-Full.jpg
 
TheGreekPhysique
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kaapstadflaneur kaapstadflaneur
J.Crew is late to the vintage watch game. Other men's clothing retailers in the same market bracket jumped into the vintage watch game years ago. For example, J. Press (from whom J. Crew stole their image and ripped off their name) and Todd Snyder have been selling vintage watches (at vastly inflated prices) at their physical retail stores for years. I don't foresee this being a major game-changer for J. Crew (whose clothes I happen to like, especially the Wallace & Barnes sub-line). In any event, this is a sign of the times as watches go more mainstream.

I am unfamiliar with those other two retailers so this was a first for me but I am inclined to agree that this is a sign that the watch industry is blowing up.
Dan S Dan S
Heuer-Seafarer-Gear-Patrol-Lead-Full.jpg

I actually LOVE the look of that one! nice little summer chrono. Especially like the colors.
 
kaapstadflaneur
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TheGreekPhysique TheGreekPhysique
Thats interesting I have only ever known A&F as a teen fashion brand. I actually remember some story in the news about them shaming an overweight person saying something along the lines of that wasnt the image they were trying to portray so I stopped supporting them..

Abercrombie & Fitch had a rich history as an outdoors and safari outfitter that dates back to the 1890s. It only became its current iteration as a mall brand clothier of dubious repute in the late-1980s/early-1990s.
 
Dan S
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TheGreekPhysique TheGreekPhysique
I actually LOVE the look of that one! nice little summer chrono. Especially like the colors.

It can be yours for the low low price of ~$50k. 😉
 
Archer
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gbesq gbesq
I don't see this succeeding if the primary market audience is intended to be vintage watch collectors.

Im 100% sure it isn’t.

gbesq gbesq
For young professionals who don't mind overpaying for everything...

There’s your target demographic right there. People who are aware that vintage is cool, but likely are not watch collectors at all. They just want to complete a look.
 
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