The Popular Club Plan, J.Crew’s predecessor, was founded in 1947. Mitchell Cinader and Saul Charles established Popular Merchandise, Inc., which operated under the Popular Club Plan name and sold affordable women’s clothing.
The business initially relied on in-home demonstrations rather than the polished retail stores associated with J.Crew today. Sales representatives showed garments directly to customers, a model that helped the company reach shoppers before mail-order fashion catalogs became its dominant channel.
Popular Club Plan later became the foundation for the catalog operation that evolved into J.Crew. In 1983, Popular Merchandise changed its name to J.Crew, Inc. The new name was inspired by the sport of crew, with the letter “J” added for visual and brand appeal. J.Crew’s first retail store opened in 1989 at South Street Seaport in Manhattan.
A common mix-up is treating 1983 as the company’s founding year. That is the year the J.Crew name emerged; the underlying clothing business traces back to 1947. The company also sold the Popular Club Plan subsidiary in 1998.