J.Crew Says ‘J.Crew Mercantile’ is Just a Name They Own

‘J.Crew Mercantile’ might be nothing more than a name after all.

On May 2, people “familiar with the situation” told the Wall Street Journal that J.Crew owns the name J.Crew Mercantile and is developing a more budget-friendly line. According to the people, the new line will feature merchandise and prices closer to what shoppers would find at J.Crew’s outlet stores, J.Crew Factory.

However, on May 7, J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler told WWD that the company bought the license to the name ‘Mercantile’ simply because he liked the name.

“Mercantile is a name we own. There’s not much beyond that,” said Drexler. “It’s a name that was available and we liked. The way we run the company, we are always thinking creatively, innovating , and managing our assets. We have secured names and trademarks with either loose ideas or intentions, or with our imaginations. Sometimes things come of it, or they don’t.”

So will a lower-priced line called J.Crew Mercantile actually happen? We’ll have to wait and see.