Source: Madewell
J. Crew will spin off its fast growing denim brand Madewell, according to a Friday filing with the SEC.
The company said Chinos Holdings, its subsidiary, will be renamed Madewell before its initial public offering. The company did not disclose the size of the offering or its target price range.
The denim brand said it plans to use the money raised in its IPO “to repay indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.”
Madewell reported $614 million in 2018 revenue, according to the filing. The company said that 87% of its sales are direct to consumers.
Madewell is the crown-jewel of parent company J. Crew, which has continued to struggle with declining sales. For the second quarter, J. Crew reported a net loss of $44.2 million, compared to the $6.2 million loss a year ago. Its namesake brand reported that sales declined nearly 7% year over year to $399.1 million. Madewell, however, reported that sales grew almost 15% to $139.7 million in the same period — or about 24% of the parent company’s revenue for the quarter.
Madewell, known for its popular denim lines and chic universal basics, has a smaller brick-and-mortar footprint than the J. Crew brand. The brand said it had 132 stores as of Aug. 3, compared with J. Crew’s 365 locations. Madewell said its e-commerce sales represented 40% of its direct-to-consumer revenue in the first half of fiscal 2019.
J. Crew has been reportedly exploring multiple options to turn around its struggling business, including spinning off Madewell. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that J. Crew hired restructuring lawyers to explore options to rework its $1.7 billion debt load.
