How Madewell Bought and Sold My Family's History
October 11, 2014 7:43 AM Subscribe
How Madewell Bought and Sold My Family's History: In 1937, my great-grandfather started a workwear company in New England called Madewell. In 2006, 17 years after the last factory shut down, J.Crew relaunched a women’s clothing company with the same name and logo, based on a 50-year history in which it had no part. (single link buzzfeed)
I shop at Madewell all the time, and I feel as though they have not mentioned their "heritage" for years now. So I think that the real story is that the company made a halfhearted attempt to associate themselves with this "heritage" and customers didn't bite. Similar thing happened with Abercrombie & Fitch's offshoot Ruehl no.925, except Ruehl's origin story was wholly fictional.
posted by acidic at 8:20 AM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by acidic at 8:20 AM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
It could be worse, a private equity firm could come in and trade on an existing company's goodwill while destroying everything that made that company good in the first place. Abercrombie, Eddie Bauer, Coach, Johnson & Murphy, Cole Haan, Land's End, Burberry, Sperry; all of these are household names because they used to manufacture stuff that was so good that people would seek them out. And they have been gutted, and now sell overmarketed overpriced crap. The clothing company lifecycle, in its current form, is a horrible thing.
LL Bean is still family owned. So there's that.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:33 AM on October 11, 2014 [15 favorites]
LL Bean is still family owned. So there's that.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:33 AM on October 11, 2014 [15 favorites]
Similarly: Fake Craft Beer and Fake Craft Bourbon. Similarly, almost every commercially sold aspect of your life.
The most interesting thing to me is this recent trend of awareness of these Post-Modern fictions and how people will choose to react to this growing awareness. Will they shrug and move on? Or will they seek out their own personal sources of real authenticity.
posted by j03 at 8:36 AM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
The most interesting thing to me is this recent trend of awareness of these Post-Modern fictions and how people will choose to react to this growing awareness. Will they shrug and move on? Or will they seek out their own personal sources of real authenticity.
posted by j03 at 8:36 AM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
Buying up old brands and repurposing them for modern products has been going on for over a dozen years now.
I first started seeing it in the bicycle industry, when old-and-respected European names like Mercier, Dawes and Motobecane started showing up on cheap commodity Chinese frames -- the exact same bikes with different stickers on them, usually. Turns out somebody had gone around buying the trademarks and set up a pretty brisk business flipping crap factory product to people who wanted Euro bikes to convert to fixies but couldn't afford the original names, couldn't be arsed to do the conversion work themselves, and couldn't tell the difference beyond the badge anyway.
It's been happening elsewhere. Pretty much any time you see a brand name "revived" that has a real, rather than manufactured history, behind it -- this is what's happened. Usually the new stuff isn't a patch on the original work. This happens in the art-and-design world too -- see Christian Audigier's various ventures, like Von Dutch and Sailor Jerry.
The stale trademark of an out-of-business company is usually a lot cheaper than creating one from scratch, and often comes with a history ready to cleanse and fluff up for insta-cred. Expect to see a lot more of it until the general public's gotten jaded of paying premiums for vintagey-looking things.
posted by ardgedee at 9:23 AM on October 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
I first started seeing it in the bicycle industry, when old-and-respected European names like Mercier, Dawes and Motobecane started showing up on cheap commodity Chinese frames -- the exact same bikes with different stickers on them, usually. Turns out somebody had gone around buying the trademarks and set up a pretty brisk business flipping crap factory product to people who wanted Euro bikes to convert to fixies but couldn't afford the original names, couldn't be arsed to do the conversion work themselves, and couldn't tell the difference beyond the badge anyway.
It's been happening elsewhere. Pretty much any time you see a brand name "revived" that has a real, rather than manufactured history, behind it -- this is what's happened. Usually the new stuff isn't a patch on the original work. This happens in the art-and-design world too -- see Christian Audigier's various ventures, like Von Dutch and Sailor Jerry.
The stale trademark of an out-of-business company is usually a lot cheaper than creating one from scratch, and often comes with a history ready to cleanse and fluff up for insta-cred. Expect to see a lot more of it until the general public's gotten jaded of paying premiums for vintagey-looking things.
posted by ardgedee at 9:23 AM on October 11, 2014 [4 favorites]
"Most of my interview with Sikhounmuong, which was conducted in a conference room accompanied by two public relations people..." . Contrast this with her great-uncle saying: “We didn’t do too much of that designing bullshit..." I'll take the old Madewell, thank you.
posted by McMillan's Other Wife at 9:41 AM on October 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by McMillan's Other Wife at 9:41 AM on October 11, 2014 [3 favorites]
What a great article!
"Most of my interview with Sikhounmuong, which was conducted in a conference room accompanied by two public relations people..." . Contrast this with her great-uncle saying: “We didn’t do too much of that designing bullshit..." I'll take the old Madewell, thank you.
Of course, the reason the old Madewell didn't do much designing is because they stole other firms' designs... The last line is a perfect kicker. If Julius were alive, I think he’d be very impressed that a company called Madewell posted revenue of over $180 million in the fiscal year 2013. He would care not at all about whether it was authentic, or what the word “authentic” even means. I rather like the fairy story of "authenticity", though I wish it was more honest about the way things worked in the past.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:40 AM on October 11, 2014 [6 favorites]
"Most of my interview with Sikhounmuong, which was conducted in a conference room accompanied by two public relations people..." . Contrast this with her great-uncle saying: “We didn’t do too much of that designing bullshit..." I'll take the old Madewell, thank you.
Of course, the reason the old Madewell didn't do much designing is because they stole other firms' designs... The last line is a perfect kicker. If Julius were alive, I think he’d be very impressed that a company called Madewell posted revenue of over $180 million in the fiscal year 2013. He would care not at all about whether it was authentic, or what the word “authentic” even means. I rather like the fairy story of "authenticity", though I wish it was more honest about the way things worked in the past.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:40 AM on October 11, 2014 [6 favorites]
"New Bedford, Mass"; I've got to be a little bit positive that some of the stuff is still made in the States; I mean, every last bit of it could have been overseased to 3rd world wage slaves; and they would still be making bank.
They've even got the farmy website complete with partners like Penfield early 1980's North Face puffies.
Bleah.
posted by buzzman at 10:44 AM on October 11, 2014
They've even got the farmy website complete with partners like Penfield early 1980's North Face puffies.
Bleah.
posted by buzzman at 10:44 AM on October 11, 2014
This was great. Loved the pragmatic nostalgia. Though I'm sad that I just bought a bunch of boots from Frye and now know it's a hollowed-out brand.
posted by nev at 10:48 AM on October 11, 2014
posted by nev at 10:48 AM on October 11, 2014
I assume that by the time I hear about a brand, it's either already in decline or will be in the next few years.
I also assume that any company that suddenly pops up everywhere yet claims to have been established before 1960-ish is totally making that shit up. I figured that was the case with Madewell.
Present day Madewell, incidentally, is one of those stores I keep trying to like and failing. Like, it's obviously targeted toward my demographic. But everything's too casual for work, too delicate for weekends, and neither interesting enough nor well-made enough (heh) for me to justify the price.
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:44 AM on October 11, 2014
I also assume that any company that suddenly pops up everywhere yet claims to have been established before 1960-ish is totally making that shit up. I figured that was the case with Madewell.
Present day Madewell, incidentally, is one of those stores I keep trying to like and failing. Like, it's obviously targeted toward my demographic. But everything's too casual for work, too delicate for weekends, and neither interesting enough nor well-made enough (heh) for me to justify the price.
posted by Metroid Baby at 11:44 AM on October 11, 2014
Give it to me straight, like a pear cider made with 100% pear
posted by tiaz at 12:21 PM on October 11, 2014 [8 favorites]
posted by tiaz at 12:21 PM on October 11, 2014 [8 favorites]
A pear cider made with 100% pear is like a martini made with pure orange juice.
You're looking for a perry.
posted by ardgedee at 1:02 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
You're looking for a perry.
posted by ardgedee at 1:02 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Make me a sherry / with 100% Cher
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:11 PM on October 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:11 PM on October 11, 2014 [5 favorites]
And they have been gutted, and now sell overmarketed overpriced crap
Indeed. Which is a seriously bad mistake. It's easy to go downmarket, but going up market, or returning up market, is almost impossible.
Barney's comes to mind (used to be synonymous with bad suits), but I'm hard pressed to think of any others.
posted by IndigoJones at 2:17 PM on October 11, 2014
Indeed. Which is a seriously bad mistake. It's easy to go downmarket, but going up market, or returning up market, is almost impossible.
Barney's comes to mind (used to be synonymous with bad suits), but I'm hard pressed to think of any others.
posted by IndigoJones at 2:17 PM on October 11, 2014
And they have been gutted, and now sell overmarketed overpriced crap
Indeed. Which is a seriously bad mistake. It's easy to go downmarket, but going up market, or returning up market, is almost impossible.
You get that the PE guys don't give a sh!t, right? They're looking for a liquidity event in 5-8 years.
posted by leotrotsky at 2:39 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Indeed. Which is a seriously bad mistake. It's easy to go downmarket, but going up market, or returning up market, is almost impossible.
You get that the PE guys don't give a sh!t, right? They're looking for a liquidity event in 5-8 years.
posted by leotrotsky at 2:39 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
I did like the author's stance. Rather than mock outrage, he had a look at the history of the family brand and acknowledged that his grandfather would likely have approved.
posted by arcticseal at 2:45 PM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by arcticseal at 2:45 PM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]
... and also that he also preferred the current Madewell's stuff (notionally, at least) to the original workwear that the company had focused on.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:48 PM on October 11, 2014
posted by Going To Maine at 2:48 PM on October 11, 2014
It's easy to go downmarket, but going up market, or returning up market, is almost impossible.
Although it required a monopoly and other illegal business practices to do it, Luxotica made Ray Ban into a luxury brand after their sunglasses had been sold in drugstores for $10 a pair twenty years ago.
posted by incessant at 2:55 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
Although it required a monopoly and other illegal business practices to do it, Luxotica made Ray Ban into a luxury brand after their sunglasses had been sold in drugstores for $10 a pair twenty years ago.
posted by incessant at 2:55 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]
You get that....
Not familiar with PE (unless you mean price/earnings), but I'm assuming you mean the recent products of the Business Schools. Yeah, I'm aware. Money changes everything.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:34 PM on October 11, 2014
Not familiar with PE (unless you mean price/earnings), but I'm assuming you mean the recent products of the Business Schools. Yeah, I'm aware. Money changes everything.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:34 PM on October 11, 2014
arcticseal: "I did like the author's stance. Rather than mock outrage, he had a look at the history of the family brand and acknowledged that his grandfather would likely have approved."
Yes- I thought that made the story much more interesting than the outrage-filter it could have been. Although I do agree with leotrotsky that it's sad that it's harder now to gauge quality based on brand.
posted by dogmom at 4:39 PM on October 11, 2014
Yes- I thought that made the story much more interesting than the outrage-filter it could have been. Although I do agree with leotrotsky that it's sad that it's harder now to gauge quality based on brand.
posted by dogmom at 4:39 PM on October 11, 2014
See also Indian Motorcycles. They went out of business in 1953 but every few years someone buys or steals the rights to the name and tries to market new Indians, typically styled after the originals but otherwise completely unrelated.
posted by TedW at 6:46 AM on October 12, 2014
posted by TedW at 6:46 AM on October 12, 2014
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posted by jacquilynne at 8:06 AM on October 11, 2014 [3 favorites]