Who’s a Fit for J. Jill?

Rumors are that The J. Jill Group Inc. (Quincy, Mass.) is for sale. And, as whenever rumors fly, so does speculation.

Among the rumored suitors for the multi-channel specialty apparel retailer are Urban Outfitters Inc. (Philadelphia) and Liz Claiborne Inc. (New York).

“There’s been no discussion,” Urban outfitters cfo John Kyees told Women’s Wear Daily. “We’ve never done an acquisition for 35 years, but you never know.”

Another, unidentified Urban Outfitters executive told WWD, “J. Jill is an interesting business.”

“Urban Outfitters can fine-tune the merchandise at J. Jill and have another channel for customers who have outgrown Anthropologie,” a “financial source” told WWD. “They can take the best from Free People and Anthropologie and incorporate it into J. Jill. When you look at Gap’s new Forth & Towne concept, you can see that the age 35-plus market is very competitive.”