DISCUSSION
Will investors sleep on Casper’s IPO?
Written by RetailWire Staff
Photo: Casper
Direct-to-consumer mattress brand Casper has made its mark with customers. Now it is trying its luck with investors.
Casper announced plans to raise up to $182.4 million in its IPO, according to CNBC. The stock will sell at between $17 and $19 per share, with a top-end valuation of $768.2 million, well below the $1.1 billion the company was valued at in March following its last round of funding.
While Casper is primarily known as an online business, it has been slowly but surely leveraging brick-and-mortar in keeping with emerging wisdom throughout the direct-to-consumer space about the need for a physical presence.
The chain has launched pop-ups such as "The Dreamery," an experiential mattress try-out lounge opened in 2018 in Manhattan where customers could book time for a nap.
Casper has also launched and expanded its permanent full store footprint throughout the U.S., with its current store count now reaching 60, according to Citylab.
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Photo: Casper[/caption]
The chain has partnered with major retailers, as well. As far back as 2014, Casper had built a relationship with furniture and décor retailer West Elm, and its products are sold by Target and Costco. Target is one of the major investors in Casper’s IPO, according to the CNBC article.
Other online players in the booming mattress startup space have taken different approaches to expand beyond the web. Startup Tuft & Needle, for instance, announced its merger with classic mattress brand Serta Simmons in 2018.
Casper is not alone among mattress startups in pursuing an IPO. Purple went public in February of 2018 as part of a merger with special purpose acquisition company Global Partner Acquisition Corp. Purple’s stock was trading at around $11 at the time this article was written.
Photo: Casper[/caption]
The chain has partnered with major retailers, as well. As far back as 2014, Casper had built a relationship with furniture and décor retailer West Elm, and its products are sold by Target and Costco. Target is one of the major investors in Casper’s IPO, according to the CNBC article.
Other online players in the booming mattress startup space have taken different approaches to expand beyond the web. Startup Tuft & Needle, for instance, announced its merger with classic mattress brand Serta Simmons in 2018.
Casper is not alone among mattress startups in pursuing an IPO. Purple went public in February of 2018 as part of a merger with special purpose acquisition company Global Partner Acquisition Corp. Purple’s stock was trading at around $11 at the time this article was written.
- Online mattress retailer Casper IPO to raise $182.4 million – CNBC
- What’s the Future of the ‘Sleep Economy’? – CityLab
- Need a nap? Casper opened a store for that – RetailWire
- Airbnb tops list of 13 potential tech IPOs in 2020 – VentureBeat
- Serta Simmons to merge with Tuft & Needle – CNBC
- Global Partner Acquisition Corp. And Purple Innovation, LLC Complete Business Combination – PR NewsWire
- Purple Innovation Inc. – MarketWatch