Quick sale of Moncler IPO shows hot market for luxury goods

(ANSA) – Milan, December 2 – Moncler, the producer of high-end outwear including the ubiquitous puffy coats seen on fashionable European streets, launched a highly successful initial public offering Monday that sold out in hours.

In fact, the IPO was so hot that demand was twelve times greater than available equity.

Last week Milan-based Moncler priced its shares at between 8.75 euros and 10.20 euros each, for a total valuation that reached more than two billion euros as every share was snapped up in the IPO. In a sign of the resilience of the luxury goods market despite the economic crisis in much of Europe, demand for Moncler’s shiny down-filled coats helped the company report sales of 389 million euros during the first nine months of this year – an increase of about 20% over the same period last year.

The company, founded in 1952, sells women’s puffy coats from around 800 euros each to stylish snowsuits for toddlers at about 400 euros.