Salomon Owner Amer Sports Raises $ 1.37B in U. S. IPO
● The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Amer Sports Inc. raised $1.37 billion in its U.S. initial public offering on Wednesday, a total that fell short of its projected $1.8 billion.
The Finnish company, which owns the Salomon, Arc'Teryx, Wilson, Peak Performance and Atomic brands, sold 105 million ordinary shares for $13 each. The company previously anticipated offering 100 million ordinary shares priced between $16 and $18 a share. The offering is expected to close on Monday.
The stock, which began trading on Thursday, hovered above its listing price throughout the day.
Amer was approved last week to list on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker “AS” after filing a statement with the SEC earlier this month announcing its proposed IPO.
Amer's IPO marks one of the first major shoe IPOs in 2024, and follows Birkenstock's move to go public at the end of 2023. Although IPO activity was broadly dull throughout 2023, it has started to pick up in recent months and is expected to accelerate in the back half of 2024.
The company's stock market debut comes as other sneaker and sporting goods executives issue warnings about muted consumer demand going into 2024. Nike in December said it would “streamline” its organization and cut costs, and in November, Dick's Sporting Goods chief executive officer Lauren Hobart said the company is “trying to model in an appropriate level of caution due to the uncertain macroeconomic environment.”
Amer's brands tend to operate within a more premium price point, which CEO of Arc'teryx Equipment Stuart Haselden said means broader protection from certain economic headwinds.
“We're seeing our customers being very able and willing to pay for innovation, technical, performance, quality and premium performance,” Haselden told WWD sister publication FN in an interview on Thursday. “Our brands, in each of their respective areas, are all steeped in innovation.”
According to a Reuters report, investors were concerned about Amer's reliance on China and its volatile economy. China's Anta Sports holds a majority stake in Amer and its sales in the region — about 19 percent of total revenues in the first nine months of 2023 — have grown at a faster rate than other regions.
Haselden said despite China's strong growth, North America is Amer's largest region and biggest opportunity for continued growth. For Arc'teryx specifically, footwear will be a key part of North American growth in 2024, Haselden said.
For the first nine months of 2023, Amer's revenue was $3.1 billion, up 29.9 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
Gross margin increased from 49.4 percent to 52.2 percent. Net loss was $114 million.
The company previously shared preliminary results for 2023, which included revenue of $3.55 billion and a net loss of $252.7 million.
Among the company's brands, Salomon in particular had a standout year in 2023, and its public profile was bolstered by Rihanna's Super Bowl performance in which she wore the MM6 Maison Margiela x Salomon Cross Low sneakers. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Salomon revenue was $949.3 million.
Heading into 2024, Golden Goose, Shein and Skims are among the most anticipated retail and fashion IPOs to watch.