The Henderson clothing chain from Russia wants to list in Moscow

Russian menswear chain Henderson plans to stage an initial public offering (IPO) on the Moscow Stock Exchange next month, taking advantage of the "space vacated" by Western firms exiting the Russian retail market, the company announced on Friday. , taken by Reuters.

There have been few listings on the Moscow Stock Exchange since Russia sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022. IPOs launched have generally been small and deals have depended on Russian investors following an exodus of Western capital, according to Reuters.

Henderson, which operates 159 stores in 64 cities in Russia as well as Armenia, said it expects the new shares to make up the bulk of the offering, and the free float following the IPO is expected to exceed 10%. .

Henderson did not give a valuation estimate for the bid, but said its revenue has grown an average of 18 percent annually over the past four years, reaching 12.4 billion rubles ($129 million) in 2022.

A person close to the situation said, according to Reuters, that a 25-27 billion ruble valuation of the Henderson IPO is possible.

"Henderson is positioned in the affordable luxury segment, where global brands that have left the Russian market previously occupied a large share," Alfa Bank analysts say.

Hundreds of foreign retailers have closed their stores in response to what Russia calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, leaving some of Moscow's most prestigious streets with closed shops. In addition, the profile industry lost about $2.5 billion, according to Reuters.

In this context, Russian designers and local brands are helping to fill the gap.

According to Alfa Bank, Henderson will probably record the highest revenue growth rates among listed companies in the Russian consumer sector in the next three to five years.

Citing analytical data, Henderson reported that the menswear market in Russia is expected to grow to 1.14 trillion rubles in 2028, from 550 billion rubles in 2022.