J.Jill Makes Public Debut On NY Stock Exchange

Women’s apparel store J. Jill announced this week that it launched its initial public offering with nearly 12 million shares in the $14 to $16 range. The retailer confirmed the shares, which are likely to raise $163.3 million to 186.7 million, are coming from an existing stockholder. J.Jill itself will not receive money from this sale, but it will be listed under the JILL ticker on the New York Stock Exchange. For this public offering, it is being managed by Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley & Co, LLC. and Jefferies LLC.

The retailer reported $617 million in sales for the one-year period ending on October 29, 2016. While eCommerce accounts for the largest portion with 88 percent of sales, direct sales via catalogue come in at 42 percent and regular catalogue orders are at 12 percent. J. Jill’s active customers increased 13.3 percent, equaling 1.7 million for the fiscal year ending at the end of January of this year.

As the brand looks to connect socially online, it also desires to have an omnichannel focused plan moving forward. Given the strong results in online sales, it’s no wonder the clothing retailer is looking to capitalize on the eCommerce boom. In its Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the retailer discussed the various ways it plans to enhance this area of operations.

The statement said, “We are in the process of re-platforming our website to improve our customers’ personalized shopping experience and increase the ease of navigation, checkout and overall engagement. Our new platform, managed by our experienced team, will provide us with the opportunity to expand internationally. In addition, our mobile platform provides us with the ability to effectively engage with our customer on her mobile device by providing her with access to product research and the ability to connect with the brand socially.”