One of the biggest names in clothing is opening a new location at Northeast Shopping Plaza, a Publix-anchored retail center at 226 37th Avenue North, near the crossroads of 4th Street and 38th Avenue North.

J.Crew will occupy around 5,000 square feet at the busy shopping center, according to documents filed with the City of St. Petersburg. The space was previously a Play It Again Sports, which closed in 2018.

The New York-based clothing retailer, whose brands include J.Crew, Madewell, and J.Crew Factory, opened its first brick-and-mortar store in 1989 and now has more than 480 locations throughout the United States.

While the documents filed with the city don’t indicate which brand the store will be, it is most likely a J.Crew Factory store, which differentiates itself from its flagship J.Crew store with more affordable offerings.

J.Crew has one location in Tampa Bay at Tampa’s International Plaza. However, there are several J.Crew Factory stores in the region with locations at Tampa Premium Outlets in Wesley Chapel, Ellenton Premium Outlets in Ellenton, and at the Shoppes at University Center in Sarasota.  

J.Crew Factory is expanding throughout the United States and is set to open 80 new stores in 2024, mostly in neighborhood shopping centers.

“Today, we have over 200 locations open across the United States, and there’s no slowing down,” according to J.Crew Factory’s LinkedIn. “We’re getting bigger and better in stores and online, and we’re committed to delivering J.Crew Factory’s exclusive collection of affordable, quality styles for every family.”  

In 2023, J.Crew celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding. The company was a staple of shopping-mall culture in the 1980s and 1990s as it expanded its footprint to more than 100 countries.  

It continued to do well in the 21st century until the recession of the late 2000s led consumers to turn away from its high-priced clothes and gravitate toward fast fashion and athleisure brands.

Changes in ownership and leadership ensued, with the company going public in 2006 but then being acquired by a private equity firm five years later. As the COVID-19 crisis gripped the world and changed the retail landscape, J.Crew declared bankruptcy in May 2020. The company exited bankruptcy in August 2020 and has been reinventing its business and offerings ever since.  

As of October 2023, the company operates 120 J.Crew retail stores, 154 Madewell stores, and 215 J.Crew Factory stores in nearly every state in the nation.  

The opening date of J.Crew’s new St. Pete store is unknown, but St. Pete Rising has reached out to the company for further information about its plans.