Mickey Drexler may have stepped down as CEO of beleaguered preppy apparel retailer J.Crew in June, but he still gets to cash in on one perk: a lifetime employee discount for him and his immediate family. It’s a golden parachute of casual khakis, classic gingham button downs, and those ill-fated Tilly sweaters.
J.Crew offers employees discounts on clothing and accessories, which has historically ranged from 30% on full-priced merchandise to 50% off of sales items. And Drexler will receive whatever discount amount the company has in place at the time of his purchases, if he makes any.
No word on whether Drexler, who invested $100 million into J.Crew and owns 10% of the company, will take advantage of the perk. Drexler has remained as chairman of the Chinos Holdings board, the parent company of J.Crew.
The perk was highlighted in a tweet Thursday.
Mickey Drexler is getting a LIFETIME employee discount at J.Crew for his family. Pic.twitter.com/xTHdAXRoiV
— Kim Bhasin (@KimBhasin) July 13, 2017
Or as one astute tweet notes, does it really even matter?
The whole store is literally always 40% anyway.
— Myles Udland (@MylesUdland) July 13, 2017
Of course, it’s not the only compensation Drexler will receive under an amended employment contract that will end December 2018. Drexler will also get $1.4 million in cash and another $1 million for Drexler Ventures LLC, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week.
Sales soared during Drexler’s early years at J.Crew and went public in 2006. However, when the company agreed to be taken private in a $3 billion deal in 2010, it was left laden with debt at a time when brick-and-mortar retailers started losing sales to online competitors.
J.Crew experienced a string of stumbles as it struggled to keep pace with fast-fashion outlets and online retailers like Amazon. It announced job cuts in April and a debt restructuring in May. The once go-to source for preppy clothing also saw the high-profile exit of creative director Jenna Lyons.
