LONDON — Mulsanne Group, a Chinese men’s wear manufacturer backed by L Catterton, filed for an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.
With a market capitalization of 4.07 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $518.5 million at current exchange, Mulsanne Group is the first Chinese fashion company to enter the stock market in the last 12 months.
The company offered 200 million shares, of which 180 million shares will be sold internationally. The company raised 1.17 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $149.1 million. Credit Suisse, Citigroup and China Merchant Bank International are joint sponsors.
Yong Yu, chief executive officer of the company, said to the local press that the kids wear and women’s wear markets will be a big focus in Mulsanne’s post-IPO strategy. The company is also incubating some new ideas and is seeking new collaborations. Mulsanne Group is also open to acquiring men’s and women’s wear brands, but has no timeline on that so far.
Related Galleries
Founded in 2007, the company operates five brands. They are Gxg, Gxg Jeans, Gxg.kids, Yatlas and 2Xu, an Australian sportswear brand that is also backed by L Catteron. It made 3.01 billion, 3.51 billion and 3.78 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively. Gxg, the flagship brand, made 2.5 billion Hong Kong dollars in 2018, making up 66.1 percent of its annual revenue.
Mulsanne operates 2,250 points of sales across China and has firmly established its presence on Tmall, WeChat’s Mini program and Vipstore. Some 11.2 million consumers have joined its loyalty program since 2009.
According to China Insights Consultancy, Mulsanne controls 3.3 percent of the Chinese men’s wear market and is ranked number one in terms of online penetration. It was the second best-selling men’s wear brand in last year’s Tmall Singles Day shopping festival, an indicator of China’s retail climate, second to Uniqlo.
L Catterton, previously known as L Capital Asia, acquired 70 percent of Mulsanne Group with Crescent Point in 2017. The private equity firm, formed from the merger of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton’s L Capital and Catterton, has also invested in Emperor Watch & Jewellery, a Hong Kong-based timepiece and jewelry retailer, now sold; O Luxe Holdings, previously known as Ming Fung Group, a Hong Kong-based jewelry brand; Xin Hee Group, a Fujian-based women’s wear apparel maker; Trendy Group, a Guangzhou-based fashion company that is terminating its 10 Corso Como China operation in early June, and Marubi, a Guangzhou-based skin-care company that specializes in eye care.