Fashion retailer Aritzia files to go public

More than 30 years after it opened its first store in Vancouver's Oakridge Shopping Centre, fashion retailer Aritziahas decided to convert from a privately held company to a public one.

The retailer has filed a preliminary prospectuswith regulators the first paperworkin a journeyto seeing its shares listed and trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

• Canadian fashion retailers face tough outlook, but luxury brands poised to do well
• Aritzia apologizes to customer who had 'shockingly racist experience'

Founded in 1984, the company has grown to 75 stores 58 in Canada and 17 in the United States and has had an ecommerce presence since 2012.

It specializes in women's fashion apparel and accessories, targeting the age 15 to 45 demographic.

Its filing reveals that the chain had net revenues of $542million and net income of $41 million in fiscal 2016. It hopes to double its revenues to between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion by 2021.

The company acknowledges that it's going public at a time when many other clothing retailers including Le Chateau, Danier Leather, Mexx, Smart Set, and Jacobare struggling, shrinking, or have vanished entirely from the retail landscape in Canada.

• ANALYSIS: Middle class retailers dying a slow death: Don Pittis

But Aritziasays it hopes to grow its revenues by opening at least 25 new stores in the next five years, and by expanding other stores and increasingits online business to 25 per cent of total revenues by 2021 (it's 12 per cent now).

Bruce Winder, co-founder ofRetailAdvisorsNetwork, saidAritziahasavoided the fallout that has hit many other fashion retailers because theyhave "done wellon brand management and sub-brands."

"Their operations have been solid" he said, praising their "careful growth strategy."

In 2005,Aritziasold amajority stake to private equity funds managed by Boston-based Berkshire Partners. The company's founder and current chief executive Brian Hill still owns a stake. The owners plan tocontrol the company through multiple voting shares.

The prospectus did not say how many subordinate voting shares would be sold or at what price. The companysays it will not receive any of the proceeds.