J. Crew Group Inc. announced Friday that its chairman, Millard "Mickey" Drexler," will retire to devote his time to developing Drexler Ventures LLC and his other interests. Chad Leat, a J. Crew director since Jan. 2017 and a retired vice chairman of global banking at Citigroup, will succeed Drexler as chairman, effective immediately.

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Drexler also previously served as chief executive of J. Crew, joining the company in that role in 2003, and founded Madewell. J. Crew has struggled to regain its iconic status after the departure of Jenna Lyons in 2017, the brand's superstar creative director. The brand recently replaced its chief executive with an "office of the CEO" and announced plans to discontinue its budget Mercantile and Nevereven lines, throwing the brand's partnership with Amazon.com.

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The past year has been rough for the retail industry with once iconic brands delaring bankruptcy or shrinking. This week bankrupt Sears was awarded to Chairman Eddie Lampert who offered over $5 billion for the embattered chain.