Success secret from J Crew boss Mickey Drexler

"Wherever I go I always ask what the bestseller is," says Mickey Drexler, chief executive of J Crew, the US preppy clothes company he has headed since 2003.

Meeting Vanessa Friedman, fashion editor of the FT, for lunch, Mr Drexler explains that when he dined at the Wolseley in London he asked and was told 1) wiener schnitzel and 2) cobb salad. He ate the second. For pizza, the answer is always Margherita and this was the case at Pulino's in New York where he dined with Ms Friedman.

In ice cream it is always chocolate and vanilla. In cookies it is chocolate chip and then oatmeal raisin.

"I tell this to my team when we go out together: you need the Margherita! People like consistency. Whether it's a store or a restaurant, they want to come in and see what you are famous for."

J Crew's top sellers are: 1) the Jackie sweater, 2) the Café capri and for men the prewashed shirt.

What is it you are famous for?

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