Everything you need to know about the Golden Goose IPO

What do we know about the Golden Goose IPO?

Golden Goose, an Italia-based, luxury shoe brand owned by the private equity group Permira, is expected to list on the Milan stock exchange sometime in the first half of 2024. Permira has enlisted more than a half-dozen banks to underwrite what could be one of the biggest European IPOs in years.

The global IPO market has slogged through the past two years amidst rising interest rates and geopolitical conflicts. However, Golden Goose joins several clothing companies looking to debut this year including Shein, Skims and New Era Cap. Birkenstock, a German sandal maker, went public on the New York Stock Exchange in October 2023.

Notably, these companies all plan to list on US exchanges, making Golden Goose an exception. Read about more previous and upcoming IPOs on our IPO trading page.   

How to trade the Golden Goose IPO

Once Golden Goose has been listed, you can trade its shares the same way as any other stock on the market. In the meantime, you can trade thousands of other shares with FOREX.com by following these easy steps:

1. Open a FOREX.com account, or log in if you’re already a customer
2. Search for the company you want to trade in our award-winning trading platforms
3. Choose your position and size, and your stop and limit levels
4. Place the trade

Alternatively, you can practise trading shares in a risk-free demo account.

What is Golden Goose?

Golden Goose is a luxury trainer brand known for its distressed models which sell for upwards of 500 euros. The shoes are emblazoned with a “Super-Star” logo and have been worn by celebrities including Reese Witherspoon, Selena Gomez and Taylor Swift.

Each pair is handmade and individually distressed in the northern city of Venice where the company was founded in 2000. The Carlyle Group acquired total ownership of the company in 2017 and focused on expanding its physical presence globally, growing retail operations from seven to nearly 100 stores in just a few years. In 2020 the group sold a majority stake to Permira, which is currently exploring an IPO for the brand.  

How much is Golden Goose worth?

Golden Goose is looking to raise about 1 billion euros in the IPO to reach a total valuation of 3 billion, according to the Financial Times.

Is Golden Goose profitable?

Since the company does not publish its earnings reports, there is no way to know whether it's making a profit. That information will be made public once Golden Goose is a public company. Permira has announced yearly revenue figures, though. In 2022 the company brought in 501 million euros, 30% higher than the previous year’s 385.6 million. That 2021 figure—385.6mn—is an 88% increase from 2020.

What is Golden Goose’s business model?

Golden Goose’s business model focuses on producing a unique, high-quality shoe that attracts and maintains a loyal customer base. A pair will cost you anywhere from  500 to 800 euros, meaning its customers are either high net worth, strongly care about the brand to spend that much on sneakers or both.

In recent years, Golden Goose has focused on expanding its direct-to-consumer business and consumer experience. The Americas has become the brand’s largest and fastest-growing region, and the success shows in revenue growth.  Golden Goose has also expanded its products to include clothing and accessories made from leather and other high-quality fabrics.

The company is also working to verticalise its business with the acquisition of its main manufacturer, Italian Fashion Team, in October 2022 and one of its suppliers, Sirio, in November 2023.

Who are Golden Goose’s competitors?

Golden Goose’s competitors include other publicly traded footwear brands like Adidas, Nike, Deckers Outdoor Corp and—most recently—Birkenstock. None of these companies have the exact same selling points as Golden Goose, but many have overlapping products; it can be useful to compare the market performance of brands in the same sector to gain a sense of how Golden Goose might perform as a public company.

Adidas(OTCMKTS:ADDYY) is known for athletic apparel, but its Samba shoe gained popularity this past year as an everyday trainer. Although its stock price fell from an all-time high of $189 in July 2021 to $50 by October, the price has climbed back to about $100 by the start of 2024.

Nike(NYSE:NKE), with a market cap of $162bn, also fell significantly from its all-time high in late 2021 as the global supply chain crisis worsened from disruptions caused by the Covid pandemic. The company sells athletic wear and casual-use trainers, albeit at a much lower price point than Golden Goose.

Deckers Outdoor Corp.(NYSE:DECK) owns several popular footwear brands including UGG, Teva, Hoka and Sanuk. The company’s market cap is $17.3bn, and its share price has nearly doubled in the past year from $389 to $673. This rise is likely due to the company's earnings out-performing estimates for several quarters now.

Birkenstock(NYSE:BIRK) went public in October 2023 and has become one of the few IPOs to positively perform in the past two years. Its market cap currently sits at $8.91bn. Of the scant number of IPOs in the past few years, Birkenstock is one of the few companies to be trading higher than its debut price.

Read our full evaluation of Birkenstock’s IPO performance here.  

Who owns Golden Goose?

Golden Goose is majority-owned by Permira, a British global investment firm. The brand’s previous owner, The Carlyle Group, maintains a minority stake.

Golden Goose management team

The Golden Goose’s board of directors is as follows:

• Maureen Chiquet – Chairwoman
• Silvio Campara – CEO
• Danilo Piarullo – Chief Consumer Officer
• Sandro Baggiani
• Yasmin Tara
• Francesco Pascalizi
• Massimiliano Caraffa
• Elisabetta Frontini
• Giorgio Dinaro