DREXLER OUT AT J. CREW: J. Crew said yesterday that it named James Brett, most recently president of Williams-Sonoma's (WSM) West Elm, as CEO to replace Mickey Drexler starting next month. The move comes amid comparable sales declines for the private retailer over the past 10 quarters and more than $2B worth of debt. It also follows a reorganization of its leadership team and the departure of Jenna Lyons, J. Crew's former creative chief. Drexler, who was ousted as the c(GPS) in 2002 following sales declines, will continue to oversee the company's overall strategy, which will include focusing on reducing prices and investing in digital marketing.

Mickey Drexler in his office | Photo: Ethan Scott for BoF

WHAT'S NOTABLE: Many mall-based retailers, like J. Crew and Gap, have been hurt by the slowdown of mall traffic as anchor stores in malls like Macy's (M), J.C. Penney (JCP) and Sears Holdings (SHLD) have struggled and consumer trends reflect a shift to fast-fashion retailers like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M as well as e-commerce. Mall retailer bebe (BEBE), also reported reduced store traffic due to its mall dependency citing "the Amazon (AMZN) Effect," and Urban Outfitters (URBN) CEO Richard Hayne said sluggish sales are "impacting virtually all U.S. brick-and-mortar retailers. There are simply too many stores and too many malls in North America," he said, after the company reported weak results for the first quarter. Earlier in the year, Gap said it would take steps to better position the company for improved business performance and that it was identifying opportunities to streamline its operating model to be "more efficient and flexible." Meanwhile, bebe secured deals with landlords last month to shutter all of its stores, allowing it to avoid bankruptcy and continue to sell products online. Urban Outfitters CEO Hayne said the company expects to see "more closures and brands disappear until a healthier balance is reached."

OTHER MALL-BASED RETAILERS: Other mall-based apparel retailers include Nordstrom (JWN), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Zumiez (ZUMZ) and The Buckle (BKE).

PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, Gap was down 1.9% to $22.03, bebe fell 0.2% to $5.14 and Urban Outfitters was down 2.8% to $18.08.