Madewell’s sales in 2018 were up 32 per cent compared to 2017. The denim company makes popular apparels for Gen Z and young millennials. Its active customers have grown 30 per cent from 2017. Madewell may go public in 2019. Earlier this year, Madewell launched a curvy style and offers up to size 24 online. In fiscal 2018, only 19 per cent of Madewell’s revenue came from jeans. Most of it was generated from lifestyle products including T-shirts, jackets, footwear, bags and dresses. Madewell is known for sustainability and higher quality items.

But the growing secondhand trend is an unexpected headwind for Madewell. The same customer who will buy Madewell because it lasts long is the environmentally conscious consumer. More women than ever are willing to buy secondhand products in the US. So Madewell has to keep an eye on the secondhand market and has to think about its response to that. Madewell’s planned IPO may finally break it free of struggling parent J.Crew. However, it faces stiff competition from the abundance of similar retailers with overlapping offerings, innovative denim competitors, and a growing secondhand market.

American Eagle claims the most share of the US jeans market among 15- to 25-year-olds and ranks second in all jeans brands, behind Levi’s.