The initial public offering of Irvine-based Tilly’s Inc., the largest traditional IPO seen in Orange County in several years, was a big hit with Wall Street on its first day of trading last week. The action sports retailer, which had $400.6 million in sales last year, saw its long-awaited IPO hit the market on Friday, with 8 million shares priced at $15.50 per share.
The pricing reflected strong investor demand in the company, which operates a chain of 145 stores that sell action sports-branded clothes, shoes and accessories, along with its own in-house labels.
The company initially expected its shares to price in the $11.50 to $13.50 range.
Immediate Jump
Tilly’s shares rose more than 20% in early trading on Friday. The company—which trades under the TLYS ticker on the New York Stock Exchange—saw its stock open at $18.80 a share.
Shares were trading at about $17.25 as the Business Journal went to press on Friday, giving the company a market value of about $470 million.
Tilly’s is the first IPO in the U.S. in nearly two weeks to price above range and perform well on its first day of trading, according to data from Dow Jones Newswires.
The company is the first IPO in OC’s apparel and retail industry since Costa Mesa-based clothing maker Volcom Inc. raised $89 million in 2005.
Tilly’s was founded by Hezy Shaked and Tilly Levine in 1982, who remain the company’s primary owners.
They are expected to get about $84 million of the $107.6 million in proceeds from the IPO, with the remainder being used for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Shaked turned over chief executive duties to apparel industry veteran Daniel Griesemer earlier this year.
The IPO came the same week the retailer announced quarterly sales of about $96.5 million, up nearly 16% from year-ago levels. Comparable store sales increased 4.3% for the fiscal quarter ending April 28.
