Premium shoe retailer Cole Haan is preparing for an initial public offering following robust sales and profit growth.
Presently, the company is owned by private equity firm Apax Partners which bought Cole Haan from Nike in 2013.
This comes at a time of uncertainty for the footwear industry, which continues to battle with new upcoming tariffs on Chinese imports as well as broader retail sector challenges witnessed by high profile bankruptcies and widespread store closures.
“Our management team is confident in the opportunities we have created for the Cole Haan brand and our business globally. Based on the momentum we have generated in the business and the opportunities we believe are before Cole Haan, we have determined that now is the time to prepare for an initial public offering of the company’s shares,” CEO Jack Boys said in a statement.
Six years ago, Cole Haan, built on dress shoes, appeared on the outs as consumers shifted to comfort and casual footwear. Its growth had slowed with annual sales at the time gaining just 2.7 per cent to US $ 535 million.
After separating from Nike, the new standalone company quickly realised that it needed to push its dress shoes towards a sportier look and comfortable feel.
Cole Haan invested greatly in research and development and in 2014 launched ZeroGrand, a lightweight shoe collection that mixed dressy uppers and athletic bottoms reinvent its shoes.
