J.Crew Plans Slew of New Stores

J.Crew announced plans to open 24 stores this year, including oneat 347 Madison Avenue. Scheduled for a late fall opening, the8500-square-foot New York store will reportedly be designed similarto the Rockefeller Center flagship, which opened two years ago.

Unlike other J.Crew stores, the Madison Avenue store will feature adarker palette and custom-designed furniture and fixtures, such asrift-cut oak cabinetry and a black granite floor. A larger11,100-square-foot store is slated to open in 2003 in the ColumbusCenter (New York) development on the Upper West Side.