The initial public offering of Stitch Fix, an online stylist, was seen as something of a test for potential listings by other digital-first retailers, such as Warby Parker. Well, the result may give them pause.
Stitch Fix had a downsized IPO on Thursday, raising $120 million at a share price of $15—the original guidance range was $18-$20. Also, while the company previously wanted to sell 10 million shares, it sold 8 million.
The e-commerce firm has seen 13-fold revenue growth in the last few years and has mostly been profitable, although it made a small net loss this year.
CEO Katrina Lake, who will ring the Nasdaq’s opening bell to celebrate Stitch Fix’s public debut on Friday, is the only woman to lead a tech IPO this year. According to Recode, only 8% of all U.S. IPOs this year have been for female-led companies, with the others being most in the pharmaceutical industry.
Stitch Fix employs stylists who analyse users’ preferences, sizes and budgets, and send them pieces of clothing that they can keep or send back, without having to pay for shipping. It’s biggest competitor in this field is likely to be Amazon (AMZN), which has been testing a service called Prime Wardrobe.
This has not been a great year for tech IPOs. Snap (SNAP) started at $17 and is now languishing at $12.56, while Blue Apron (APRN)—the year’s worst major U.S. IPO—had an offer price of $10 but is now down to $3.08.