Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Belle International Files for Hong Kong IPO to Raise $1 Billion

The footwear company plans to make a stock market debut with the largest Chinese sportswear retailer, Topsports.
Joy & Peace, a Belle International brand | Source: Joy & Peace
Joy & Peace, a Belle International brand | Source: Joy & Peace (Joy & Peace)

HONG KONG, China — Chinese footwear retailer Belle International filed plans on Thursday to spin off its sportswear business via a Hong Kong initial public offering, a deal which two sources with knowledge of the matter said could raise $1 billion.

The company aims to list the unit Topsports International Holdings Ltd, a large Chinese distributor and retail partner of foreign brands Nike Inc and Adidas, in the second half of the year, said the sources.

The move comes two years after a consortium led by Hillhouse Capital Group and CDH Investments took Belle private in a $6.8 billion deal completed in July 2017, as traditional retailers battled online competition.

TopSports did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on its IPO plans. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to talk to the media.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Hong Kong market is beginning to see a rise in IPO activity, with the world's biggest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev likely to launch the Hong Kong float of its Asian business, which could raise at least $5 billion, next month.

Hong Kong is lagging behind the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in raising capital via IPOs this year, with $8.06 billion raised as of mid-June compared with a combined $28.2 billion raised by the US exchanges, Refinitiv data showed.

Established in 1991, Belle produces shoes under its own brands such as Belle and Staccato, and distributes other foreign labels such as Puma, Converse, Timberland and The North Face.

Belle's unit Topsports is the largest sportswear retailer in China in terms of retail sales value, with a 15.9 percent market share in 2018, the company said in its IPO prospectus, citing consultant Frost & Sullivan.

Topsports' revenue increased 22.4 percent last year to ¥26.5 billion (around $3.9 billion), while gross profit rose nearly 18 percent to ¥11 billion (around $1.6 billion), it said in the prospectus.

It plans to use some of the IPO proceeds for technology, hiring staff, purchasing equipment and upgrading its directly operated stores. Its nationwide retail network included 8,343 such stores as of end-February.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are the joint sponsors for the float.

By Julie Zhu; editors: Sumeet Chatterjee and Jan Harvey.
In This Article

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Financial Markets
A financial lens on the fast-changing fashion sector, including markets, investors and deals.

The Best of BoF 2023: Diversity’s Litmus Test

In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.


The Year Ahead: The Future of Fashion Deal-Making

For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.


The Investment Giant Behind Some of Fashion’s Biggest Deals

L Catterton, the private-equity firm with close ties to LVMH and Bernard Arnault that’s preparing to take Birkenstock public, has become an investment giant in the consumer-goods space, with stakes in companies selling everything from fashion to pet food to tacos.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections