Purple Becomes 1st Publicly-Traded DTC Mattress Producer

February 5, 2018  by Larry Thomas in Business Strategy, Economic News, Industry   

Now known as Purple Innovation LLC, the company’s stock will begin trading today on the NASDAQ over-the-counter market under the symbol PRPL.

Under terms of the merger agreement, about 82% of the company’s voting stock is controlled by Purple founders Tony and Terry Pearce.

“We are beyond excited to team up with GPAC and become the first direct-to-consumer mattress player to go public in the U.S. as we continue to execute on our mission of bringing comfort and restful sleep to billions of people around the world,” said Sam Bernards, CEO of Purple. “Today is an important milestone in the evolution of Purple and one that wouldn’t have been possible without the immense talent, tireless dedication and incredible passion of our founders, Terry and Tony Pearce, and our amazing Purple team.”

Purple, which is based in Alpine, Utah, was launched only two years ago, but according to an investor presentation filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, had revenues of $65.5 million in 2016, its first year in business.

Revenues for 2017 are projected at $190 million to $194 million, according to the filing.

The filing included a partial financial statement for the third quarter of 2017, which showed an adjusted operating loss of $4.6 million on revenues of $56 million. The loss was due largely to heavy marketing expenses.

However, the company said it reduced marketing expenses to match production capabilities in the fourth quarter, and showed a profit in December.

In the investor presentation, Purple claims it has third-largest market share of the direct-to-consumer mattress market at 15.3%, trailing only Casper (24.1%) and Saatva (18.1%). Leesa and Tuft & Needle each have a 12% share, according to the filing.

The vertically integrated company’s mattresses feature a proprietary hyper-elastic polymer material.