The RealReal Inc., a company based in San Francisco, California, is expected to make its market debut on Friday, June 28, 2019. The online luxury reseller filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, May 31, 2019.
An initial public offering is an event when a privately-held company offers some of its shares for sale to the general investing public on a stock exchange. Private companies seeking to go public have to fulfill several regulatory requirements, including disclosing financial information for transparency purposes.
RealReal sells second-hand luxury apparel and accessory products through an eBay-like online marketplace. The company leverages a data-centric, omni-channel marketing approach, including through direct mail as well as other direct response marketing channels, television, and digital, such as emails, text messages, social media, and push notifications.
It also has three retail stores that are located in Los Angeles and New York where it sells pre-owned men’s and women’s designer brands, watches, art, home goods and fine jewelry.
“We operate a retail store in each of West Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, and SoHo and Upper East Side in New York, New York. Our stores are located in highly desirable, densely populated locations with strong foot traffic. For consignors, our retail stores provide an alternative location to drop off consigned items and an opportunity to interact with our experts,” the company said in its public offering documents.
Real boasts an impressive growth trajectory and promising industry trends, though it is yet to make a profit. The company posted net losses of $75.8 million in 2018, compared with net losses of $52.3 million over the same time period. Revenue came in at $207.4 million last year, up 55% from calendar 2017.
In its filing, RealReal also revealed that it processed 1.6 million orders last year, a 42% jump from 2017, with an average order value of $446, a 2% increase on a year-over-year basis. RealReal is under the leadership of Julie Wainwright, who founded the company founded the company in 2011.
Notable investors in the company include Great Hill Partners, e. ventures, Canaan Partners, InterWest Partners X, PWP Growth Equity, Greenspring Associates, and Greycroft. RealReal saw its valuation climb to around $1.05 billion after raising $50 million in a fundraising round in March, according to data compiled by PitchBook.
Shares of the company are expected to begin trading under the ticker symbol “REAL” on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS Investment Bank and Credit Suisse are the lead underwriters on the offering.
