Wayfair IPO Could Be on the Horizon

The introduction of Mike Henriques as Vice President of Wayfair International Australia in April was a move co-founder Niraj Shah said will further bolster the company's rapid growth Down Under.

Wayfair, a Boston, Massachusetts-based firm with a brand portfolio that includes Joss & Main, Birch Lane, and DwellStudio, has been in business since 2002 selling furniture and home decor online. Formerly CSN Stores, Wayfair is today a $900 million-per-year company that continues its whirlwind ascension from a two-person company that began in 2002 in co-founder Steven Conine's Boston home.

The Henriques Effect

Henriques started with the company in September 2008 as the IT manager for Buyster Pty Ltd. Wayfair completed the purchase of Buyster from Netus, a technology investment firm, in September 2011. It was re-branded as Wayfair and Henriques was promoted to managing director four months later. Milan Arsenovic, the company's Senior Category Manager for E-Commerce, credited Henriques' knowledge of marketing technology and people skills for the promotion.

Forbes reported in October 2012 that Wayfair received $165 million in Series A startup funding just three months before the Buyster purchase. Shah said he wanted to hire team oriented, intelligent personnel who would in turn only want to work with similar people. Forbes subsequently named Wayfair the 16th most promising company for 2013.

Henriques proved to be an integral player in the company's overall success and was rewarded this past March for his efforts.

Anticipating IPO?

Wayfair's profits have steadily increased from $380 million in 2010 to nearly $1 billion last year. But Internet Retailer Magazine speculates an IPO could be on the horizon as soon as March of 2015. One Wall Street investor, who spoke to the magazine on the condition of anonymity, said an early 2015 IPO makes sense as the company continues to put pieces in place. One of those pieces he was referring to was Henriques.

The Wall Street Journal reported in March that Wayfair raised another $157 million from T. Rowe Price and several other funds, en route to being given an initial $2 billion IPO valuation. Shah is being coy regarding details of a potential IPO, repeatedly saying it would happen when the time is right. Wayfair has the advantage if you will, of earning less than $1 billion in 2013. This allows the company to file confidential IPO papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But investment bankers and Wall Street insiders believe the writing is on the wall with the hiring of Michael Fleisher as CFO in October, along with the promotion of Henriques.

Fleisher has corporate experience with Warner Music Group, and led the IPO effort for technology research firm Gartner. Further, the Boston Globe reported in February that Wayfair hired several bankers to underwrite a potential IPO effort. Henriques appears to be the company's answer to an Australian e-commerce industry that is showing no signs of slowing down.

Bigcommerce, a sales platform for online firms, found in a 2013 study that Australia not only leads the world in new online stores, but shoppers spend more on average there than any other group. Henriques is tasked with ensuring Wayfair continues its expanding global reach, and putting the brand in front of high-spending Australian shoppers.

Next Steps

Despite the attempted secrecy being by the company CEOs, the IPO will happen sooner rather than later. In addition to Henriques' promotion in April, John Kim was promoted to VP of pricing. He brings international consulting experiencing from three years with the Clinton Foundation. Joel Stevenson, Wayfair's new VP of financial planning and analysis, had been the managing director of Wayfair U.K. since June of 2012.

Racked believes Wayfair could compete globally with Amazon because most of the merchandise is shipped directly from the manufacturers as opposed to being stocked in warehouses. Whether Shah and Conine share that enthusiasm enough for a 2015 IPO remains to be seen.