The pace of initial public offerings (“IPOs”) hit what was widely characterized as a “new low” in the second quarter of 2023, as central banks raised interest rates in an effort to alleviate inflation, and in the process, deterred many companies looking to raise capital via public listings. However, fast forward to the end of 2023 and early 2024, and following a two-year-long lull in the market, expectations of a turnaround abounded, with the number of IPOs, including in the retail space, starting to rise again. Anticipation was prompted, in part, by British chip-maker Arm Holdings’ highly anticipated Nasdaq listing – which saw it raise $4.87 billion in September in one of the biggest IPOs of the year – and the prospect of a blockbuster listing from Birkenstock.
The latter delivered mixed trading results, with the German footwear company finishing its first day of trading down nearly 13 percent, nabbing it the title of the worst debut by a company worth more than $1 billion in nearly two years, according to Bloomberg. Analysts pointed to “an overvaluation of the company, a hesitation to buy into a market that is still trying to right itself, and a lack of confidence in the footwear sector” as contributing to Birkenstock’s “lackluster performance,” Modern Retail reported. “Together, these factors could make other brands cautious about pursuing an IPO … under similar economic conditions.”
But underwhelming results are not limited to Birkenstock: McKinsey recently reported that the performance of newly listed apparel, fashion, and luxury stocks “has generally been challenging,” noting that since 2018, the stock price of newly floated apparel, fashion, and luxury companies “has dropped an average of 40 percent one year after listing.” (There are exceptions, of course, including USWE (IPO in 2021), Revolve (2019) and Levi Strauss (2018).) That has not stopped China-founded, Singapore-based ultra-fast fashion giant Shein from reportedly filing to go public on markets in the U.S. and London, nor has it put a damper on reports that Italian footwear brand Golden Goose, Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS, sustainable fashion brand Reformation, e-commerce tech company Rokt, activewear-maker Vuori, and Spanish fashion retail company Tendam are likely to be among the next cohort of companies to go public. (Saks.com, Fabletics, etc. have also been preparing to IPO for some time now, per media reports.)
Against the background of an evolving market, here is a running data set that aims to provide a broad overview of recent retail and luxury-focused initial public offerings …
2024
Mar. 21, 2024 – Douglas AG
Douglas AG raised €890 million ($967 million) by offering up 34.2 million shares in an initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on March 21. The CVC Capital Partners-backed retailer, which touts itself as “Europe’s number one omni-channel premium beauty destination” first revealed plans to raise roughly 800 million euros ($868 million) in early March, prompting speculation that it would nab the title of Germany’s largest listing since Schott Pharma in September 2023. (As of the time of the IPO, Luxembourg-based private equity firm CVC Capital indirectly held around 54.4 percent of the company).
> Exchange/Ticker: Frankfurt Stock Exchange/DOU
> Amount raised: €890M
> Market cap: €2.8B
> Price/share: €26
Feb. 8, 2024 – Perfect Moment
Luxury ski and outerwear company Perfect Moment Ltd. offered just upwards of 1.33 million shares in its public debut on the NYSE American exchange. Trading opened on February 8 at $4.43. The London-headquartered company, which describes itself as “a luxury lifestyle brand that combines fashion and technical performance for its ranges of skiwear, outerwear, swimwear and activewear,” has granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 200,100 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any, at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount.
> Exchange/Ticker: NYSE American/PMNT
> Amount raised: $8M
> Market cap: $79.19M
> Price/share: $6
Feb. 1, 2024 – Amer Sports, Inc.
Amer Sports, Inc., a global group of iconic sports and outdoor brands, announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 105,000,000 ordinary shares at a public offering price of $13 per share. In connection with the offering, Amer Sports has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15,750,000 ordinary shares to cover over-allotments. The ordinary shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on February 1.
> Exchange/Ticker: NYSE/AS
> Amount raised: $1.37B
> Market cap: $7.14B
> Price/share: $13
2023
Oct. 11, 2023 – Birkenstock
Birkenstock and L Catterton offered up 32.25 million shares in furtherance of the German footwear company’s IPO. (Birkenstock sold 10.75 million ordinary shares, and L Catterton – the private equity group backed by French billionaire Bernard Arnault and LVMH that acquired a majority stake in Birkenstock in 2021 – offered 21.5 million. After the IPO, L Catterton will hold an 82.8 percent stake in Birkenstock and control a majority of the combined voting power of its outstanding shares.)
> Exchange/Ticker: NYSE/BIRK
> Amount raised: $495M
> Market cap: $7.55B
> Price/share: $46
Jul. 19, 2023 – Oddity Tech
Israeli beauty and wellness company Oddity Tech sold 12.1 million shares in its July 19 IPO. Launched in 2018 by Holtzman and his sister Shiran Holtzman-Erel, Oddity uses data and artificial intelligence to develop cosmetics for brands like Il Makiage and Spoiled Child and to make tailored product recommendations.
> Exchange/Ticker: Nasdaq/ODD
> Amount raised: $424M
> Market cap: $2.7B
> Price/share: $35
Jan. 13, 2023 – MGO Global Inc.
In one of the earliest IPOs of 2023, MGO Global Inc. – the lifestyle brand company that holds the license for Lionel Messi’s clothing line – offered up 1.5 million shares on January 13. The company was co-founded in 2018 by Chairman and CEO Maximiliano Ojeda and Chief Design Officer Ginny Hilfiger, sibling of designer Tommy Hilfiger.
> Exchange/Ticker: Nasdaq/MGOL
> Amount raised: $7.5M
> Market cap: $25.92M
> Price/share: $5
2022
Dec. 15, 2022 – Lanvin Group
Lanvin Group made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange on December 15 after merging with a blank-check firm backed by Chinese private-equity firm Primavera Capital. Primavera’s SPAC, called Primavera Capital Acquisition Corp., raised $414 million in January 2021 ahead of its merger with newly-rebranded Lanvin Group, which owns a portfolio of fashion brands including namesake Lanvin, Sergio Rossi, Wolford, and St. John.
> Exchange/Ticker: NYSE/LANV
> Amount raised: $150M
> Market cap: $1.31B
> Price/share: $10
2021
Dec. 20, 2021 – Zegna Group
Italian menswear group Zegna merged with a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”) created by Investindustrial, which is led by former UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti, creating a new publicly traded company. “The deal, which values Zegna at about $3 billion, will give the company about $760 million in new funding while allowing its founding family to retain a roughly 66 percent stake,” DealBook reported at the time.
> Exchange/Ticker: NYSE/ZGN
> Amount raised: $761M
> Market cap: $3B
> Price/share: $10
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