Vancouver-based e-commerce retailer KITS Eyecare has begun trading on the United States-based OTCQX, OTC Markets Group’s top over-the-counter securities market. KITS was previously listed on OTC’s lower-tier Pink market.
The move comes months after KITS went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) in January, raising $55 million CAD. The company is currently listed on the TSX under the symbol ‘KITS.’ On the OTCQX, KITS trades as ‘KTYCF.’
“Our continued success with executing on our strategic plan has led to increased interest in our stock.”
The listing enables KITS to enhance its access to US investors amid increased interest in its stock. According to KITS, upgrading to the OTCQX is an important step for companies looking to provide transparent trading to US investors.
“Our continued success with executing on our strategic plan has led to increased interest in our stock,” said Sabrina Liak, co-founder and CFO of KITS.
Liak added that, “upgrading to the OTCQX will increase the liquidity of [KITS’] stock and enhance access for US shareholders seeking to gain exposure to what we believe will become the leading vertically integrated, asset light model in eyecare.”
Founded in 2018 by Liak, Roger Hardy, and Joseph Thompson, KITS touts itself as a digital eyecare platform. The company sells glasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses, and offers a suite of online tools, including digital fittings, virtual try-ons, and online vision tests.
For companies already listed on qualified international exchanges, OTC allows companies to make use of “streamlined market standards” and “utilize their home market reporting to make their information available in the US.”
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To qualify, companies are required to “meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws.”
According to the company’s latest earnings report, KITS achieved a record revenue of $75.2 million last year, compared to $49.9 million in 2019. The company said it had over 700,000 active customers, and 65 percent of the company’s revenue was from repeat customers. In 2020, KITS generated a net loss of $6.6 million.
KITS reported that its number of total patient orders delivered increased by 73 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2021, growing to 157,000 from 91,000 during the same period last year. The company said eyeglass patient orders, in particular, more than doubled last quarter compared to Q4 2020, rising to “a record 41,000” from 20,000.
Thompson, KITS’ co-founder and COO, said the milestone “reinforces that secular change is moving [the eyeware] industry towards convenience and value at an accelerated rate.”
Image courtesy of KITS Eyecare.