It’s IPO season in Canada. After Shopify stunned the markets late last week by going public, which brought its value to approximately $1.9 billions, Vancouver’s Hootsuite stated “timing is everything and who knows where the market is going to be, but we are moving closer to that (IPO).”
The latest to announce its intentions to head down the IPO track is Toronto-based Shoes.com sometime this fall. Shoes.com raised $45 million earlier this month, which makes its e-commerce business valued at $320 million (CDN).
Shoes.com was founded in 2006 and was acquired Hardy in 2014. Shoes.com is targeting to report revenues of over $300 million this year, which is an increase of $100 million in 2014. million in 2014.
Chairman Roger Hardy, who is most widely known for selling Coastal Contacts (owners of Clearly Contacts), said, “This gets us cashed up right through to the IPO. It keeps us well capitalized to continue funding growth.” Hardy also noted that the company could list on the Toronto or New York stock exchanges.
As for his take on Shopify’s successful IPO, Hardy stated, It’s validation that there are great companies here. What it truly says is that innovative Canadian companies that succeed can get global attention.”