暗网吃瓜

The IPO pipeline for the rest of the year is beginning to stack up, and quite a few of the names coming up are recognizable to more than the people who keep up with public market news.

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Several well-known consumer brands have filed to go public, following a year of notable public debuts.聽

Some of the VC-backed consumer brands that have gone public so far this year include fashion-forward DTC medical scrubs maker , -founded CPG startup , and clothing resale marketplace . Other consumer brands in the pipeline include DTC eyeglass seller (expected to start trading next week), popular haircare brand (you鈥檝e seen it on ), and the tech industry鈥檚 favorite shoe brand, (the company鈥檚 filed its S-1).聽

The simplest reason for the hype around consumer companies going public, according to聽 Rick BatenburgIII, a VC at , is there are more retail investors participating in the market. That鈥檚 something well-documented (remember the at the beginning of the year, anyone?), and retail investors tend to be drawn to consumer-facing companies.

鈥淐onsumer-facing companies are going to do well specifically because people know what they are,鈥� Batenburg said. 鈥淧eople like what they understand.鈥�

So while it鈥檚 true that retail investors could feel strongly about B2B SaaS companies, it鈥檚 more likely that they鈥檒l want to invest in the companies and brands they use. Investing has become more emotional, Batenburg said, and that means retail investors are more drawn to a company鈥檚 story than necessarily the underlying financials. The retail investors, Batenburg said, aren鈥檛 doing 鈥淧E ratios and looking at pro formas,鈥� and that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e seeing a change in the types of companies that are going public.

Some consumer brands in the IPO pipeline:聽

• Warby Parker
• Olaplex
• Allbirds

And investing is easier than ever. With platforms like , , and it鈥檚 simple for retail investors to create accounts and start investing.聽

鈥淭he times have changed in the last 10 years,鈥� Batenburg said. 鈥淭hese deals are a lot more accessible than they used to be. There鈥檚 a lot of cultural focus on the stock market right now.鈥�

For many people, the COVID-19 pandemic has put more money in their pockets, thanks to stimulus checks and fewer dollars spent on travel, and given them more time to invest, thanks to remote-work policies. Consumer-facing companies have benefited from this, according to , founder of IPOX LLC.

鈥淭hese companies have benefited from more disposable income. People have more cash in the bank account, that definitely has helped,鈥� Schuster said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 good pent up demand for these because it鈥檚 a good deal at the onset.鈥�

Consumer-facing companies tend to be cheaper on the onset, Schuster said, and appreciate in the aftermarket.聽

鈥淭ypically what we鈥檝e seen, and it鈥檚 been a challenge for the IPO market generally, application software companies, if they’re really high growth companies 鈥� they have a hard time to go high in the aftermarket because they鈥檙e so expensive at the outset, the valuation,鈥� he said.聽

Warby Parker鈥檚 IPO next week will be 鈥� third consumer public exit this year, following Poshmark and pet care marketplace . Half of Menlo鈥檚 portfolio is consumer, so consumer exits aren鈥檛 anything new, according to partner , but consumer spending habits during the pandemic fueled growth for consumer companies, which can now go public during 鈥渙ne of the most vibrant IPO markets of our lifetime.鈥澛�

鈥淚t鈥檚 not new for us, but the pandemic has accelerated consumer behavior meaningfully,鈥� Ganesan said. 鈥淎nd we have incremental disposable income because people aren鈥檛 traveling, so they鈥檙e spending it more on these consumer experiences.鈥�

Illustration: Dom Guzman