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1stDibs.com Inc., the e-commerce site for high-end goods and art, has tapped banks to lead an initial public offering this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company is seeking a valuation of at least $1 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The company’s plans haven’t been finalized and could still change.
A representative for 1stDibs declined to comment.
Backed by Insight Partners, the New York-based company raised $76 million in 2019 from backers including T. Rowe Price Associates and Groupe Artémis, which controls Gucci owner Kering SA. Its valuation in the funding round was $520 million, according to PitchBook.
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Other investors include Benchmark, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Index Ventures and Spark Capital.
The company, started in 2001, has said it was founded “to bring the Paris flea markets online.”
E-commerce has been performing well since last year when the pandemic hit, forcing shoppers to buy online instead of going to stores. U.S. shoppers will spend $843 billion online this year, up 6.1 percent from 2020, according to researcher EMarketer Inc.
IPOs by online sellers of goods and services raised $15.7 billion on U.S. exchanges in 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That was the most since 2014, when Alibaba raised $25 billion in the largest-ever U.S. IPO.
By Liana Baker, Crystal Tse and Katie Roof.
