It was Steve Jobs who informed Millard “Mickey” Drexler that he was about to be fired from Gap, a company he had taken from $400 million in annual revenues to $14 billion and from 450 stores to more than 2,000 in the span of 19 years.
Wall Street Journal Magazine - “Mickey Drexler, Retail Therapist”
And yet he came back, not just to run J.Crew, but to pretty much totally kill it.
When Drexler took up the reins in 2003, J. Crew had $609 million in debt and 196 stores. Today, it has 321 stores, less than $50 million in debt and $298 million cash on hand.
Revenues went up 107% in a span of five years, from 2003 - 2008.
Not bad for a guy who got fired, eh?
(He’s sill pissed walking past GAP, if you can believe it.)
