Chinos Holdings plans to split the Madewell denim brand from J Crew as the company plans to raise funds to pay off some of its $1.7 billion in debt, although the volume of shares and their projected value is yet to be revealed. According to this plan, Chinos Holdings will be renamed as Madewell Group.

The Madewell denim brand is considered to be more successful than its sister J Crew which has been struggling to maintain market share and brand appeal in recent years. In the second quarter of this year, the company’s sales rose by 15 per cent to $139.7 million with same-store sales up 10 per cent. That followed a 28-per-cent rise in sales in the same quarter a year ago. J Crew sales, however, fell by 7 per cent in the second quarter, to about $400 million, with comp-store sales down by 4 per cent.