Luxury Coat Company Canada Goose Shares Explode After Going Public

Canada Goose, the Toronto-based coat company, just made its debut on the NYSE on Thursday.

The luxury parka apparel maker is known for its expensive coats and it looks like investors wanted a piece of the company. The company’s parkas with fur lined hoods run for about $900.

The company priced its initial public offering of 20 million shares at CA$17, or about US$12.78.

Shares opened at $18 on the New York Stock Exchange, which was well above an initial expected range of between CA$14 and CA$16.

The IPO raised CA$340 million, or about $255 million.

Canada Goose will also trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Last year the luxury outerwear manufacturer reported revenue of $291 million, and $103 million of that revenue came from U.S. consumers. The company reported a gross profit of $146 million and net income of $27 million for the same year.

It was in 2015 that the company launched its national e-commerce platform and then opened its first U.S. retail store in New York late last year.

Chief Executive Dani Reiss told CNBC in an interview on Thursday, “There is opportunity in everything,”
“[Canada Goose] has tremendous geographical opportunities,” including in Europe and in Asia, he said.

The company has experienced a lot of back lash from protestors from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) who stood outside the New York Stock Exchange as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange.

They were coyote masks and held signs that read, “Trading in Lives Is Bad for Business” and “Indecent Public Offering.”

“Every fur-trimmed Canada Goose coat represents the terrifying and painful death of a coyote who was trapped, strangled, shot, stomped on, or bludgeoned,” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement.

“PETA is calling on consumers to reject Canada Goose’s cruelty to coyotes and geese and to invest in kindness by buying vegan clothing instead.”
PETA corporate liaison Sara Britt told CNBC that PETA is planning to purchase about $4,000 worth of shares in the company, enough to submit a letter to shareholders and attend the annual shareholder meeting.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Canada Goose acknowledged the protesters, saying: “We have been the target of activists in the past, and may continue to be in the future. Our products include certain animal products, including goose and duck feathers in all of our down-filled parkas and coyote fur on the hoods of some of our parkas, which has drawn the attention of animal welfare activists.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Canada Goose (NYSE: GOOS) and have not been compensated for this article.