Companies and Brands

Farfetch Files for IPO

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Farfetch Limited has filed an F-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its initial public offering (IPO). No pricing details were mentioned in the filing, but the offering is valued up to $100 million, although this number is usually just a placeholder. The company expects to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FTCH.

The underwriters for the offering are Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Allen, UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Securities, Wells Fargo, Cowen and BNP Paribas.

This is the leading technology platform for the global luxury fashion industry. Farfetch operates the only truly global luxury digital marketplace at scale, seamlessly connecting brands, retailers and consumers. Management believes that it is redefining how fashion is bought and sold through technology, data and innovation. The company was founded 10 years ago, and through significant investments in technology, infrastructure, people and relationships, it has become a trusted partner to luxury brands and retailers alike.

The global market for personal luxury goods was estimated to be worth $307 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $446 billion by 2025, according to Bain, and it is largely characterized by family-controlled companies, brand integrity, longstanding relationships and fragmented supply.

The Farfetch Marketplace is the first and largest application built on this platform and is currently the source of over 90% of the company’s revenue. As of June 30, 2018, the Farfetch Marketplace connected over 2.3 million Marketplace consumers in 190 countries to over 980 luxury sellers.

The company gave a few highlights from its business as follows:

  • As of December 31, 2017, we had 935,772 Active Consumers, up 43.6% since December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, we had 651,674 Active Consumers, up 56.8% since December 31, 2015.
  • Our GMV was $909.8 million in 2017, up 55.3% over 2016, and was $585.8 million in 2016, up 53.4% from 2015.
  • Our revenue was $386.0 million in 2017, up 59.4% over 2016, and was $242.1 million in 2016, up 70.1% from 2015.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering and the concurrent private placement for working capital, to fund incremental growth and other general corporate purposes.

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