Business

Zulily IPO deals 71% gain on first day

Web retailer Zulily, whose daily deals for moms and kids helped it double revenues in the first nine months of 2013, soared out of the gates on its stock’s trading debut Friday — closing up 71.4 percent, to $37.70.

The Seattle company had priced its shares at $22 — well above the forecasted $18 to $20 range.
Investors appeared to love the fact that nearly half Zulily’s order were coming from mobile, that it has been cash-flow positive for years and that it was profitable through nine months this year.

Last week, Twitter, which has yet to turn a profit, saw its shares skyrocket 73 percent in its closely watched IPO.

Zulily is a membership-only e-commerce website that promises daily deals in children’s and women’s clothes, toys and home décor at an average discount of 50 percent.

The company, trading under the ticker symbol ZU, was founded by Mark Vadon, co-founder of Internet jewelry retailer Blue Nile, and Darrell Cavens, a former executive at Blue Nile. Vadon stepped down as chairman and director of Blue Nile in August.

In the nine months, Zulily earned $155,000 compared to a loss of $10.5 million in the year ago period. Sales more than doubled, to $438.6 million.

The company said the $253 million raised through the sale of 11.5 million shares will be used for working capital, and potentially to acquire “complementary business, products or technologies.”