J. Crew Group announced yesterday that it is kicking out its lead designer and canning 175 employees after terrible first-quarter sales figures prompted a big reorganization within the company.

J. Crew Group employs 15,600 associates in 512 stores worldwide, and in the first three months of this year they dropped 5 percent compared to last year, prompting a major shuffle that resulted in 175 employees being fired and some of its lead designers getting pink slips, according to a CNN Money report.

The company said in a statement that it is making some “strategic and organizational changes” in various areas, including store operations, merchandising, sourcing, and production. It provide little in the way of details on exactly what those changes would be, however.

The poor sales figures were brought up during an earnings call last week, and J. Crew Group CEO Mickey Drexler shed a little bit of light on the company’s thinking going forward. He said that the aesthetic of J. Crew needs an overhaul, and that some new Madewell stores and J. Crew Factory outlets may be in the offing, according to the report. Madewell is targeted at women shoppers, and it is showing some promise for the company, posting a 33 percent increase in sales when everyone else was flagging — although with 88 stores, it makes up only 11 percent of company revenue.

In the shakeup, J. Crew Group announced plans to make appoint Somsack Sikhounmuong, who was behind Madewell’s design, the head of design at J. Crew. Tom Mora, the previous top designer, will be departing the company.

Taking over at Madewell in Sikhounmuong’s absence will be Joyce Lee, who previously worked as a designer with Michael Kors.