Madewell Embraces Malls, Gives Away Totes

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As we reported last week, boho-chic brand Madewell is planning a pretty major expansion in 2012, with 15 new stores opening doors across the country this year. And in an update to that good news, parent brand J. Crew has just confirmed for us that fully half of those will be open for business within the next month. So starting today, you can shop Madewell in its new Atlanta location, with more stores in Indiana, Arizona, New York, Kansas, California, and Pennsylvania slated to arrive throughout April.

It's worth noting that though J.Crew CEO Mickey Drexler recently blasted malls for being expensive to rent and smelling like popcorn, the Pasadena, Calif., location is the only one of these seven new Madewell stores that is not in a shopping center. So grumblings aside, it would appear that Drexler really doesn't hate malls, after all.

Here's the complete list of Madewell openings happening this spring:

March 27—Perimeter Mall: Atlanta, GA
April 3—Fashion Mall at Keystone: Indianapolis, IN
April 3—Scottsdale Fashion Square: Scottsdale, AZ
April 10—Roosevelt Field Mall: Garden City, NY
April 17—Town Center Plaza: Leawood, KS
April 24—Pasadena, CA
April 23—Ross Park Mall: Pittsburgh, PA

And as an added bonus, Madewell tells us they will be giving away limited edition totes in each new store to celebrate. Assuming you can stand the popcorn stench, spend $150 during the first week of opening to get yours at the new locations.
· J. Crew's Mickey Drexler Is Totally Over Malls [Racked]
· Madewell's Southwest Expansion Plans Take Atlanta, Denver, and the Midwest One Quirky Print at a Time [Racked]