Preparing A Global Consumer & Retail Branded Apparel Company For An IPO
The Situation
A globally branded men’s and women’s consumer and retail footwear, apparel, and accessories company was preparing for an IPO and sought assistance for this initiative. Accordion was engaged to lead the broad IPO Readiness Project Management Office (“PMO”) – coordinating and overseeing all functional workstream including cross-functional interdependencies associated with collecting, reviewing, and delivering timely and accurate information to meet the initial S-1 filing deadline, and to assist the company through IPO launch. Our PMO role also included the coordination and management of multiple outside subject matter experts supporting the Company’s internal functional leads, as well as providing overall consultative services and guidance on various facets of going public and operating as a public company on Day 1.
Services
IPO Readiness
100 Day Planning
The Execution
- Planned and performed PMO initiatives across functional workstreams, including: identifying critical path and long-pole-in-the-tent items, creating and leading a forum for discussion and decision-making amongst interdependent third-party service providers and the Company, and driving teamwork and business leader partnership – all geared toward the timely preparation and filing of the initial Form S-1.
- Worked side-by-side with functional leads, external legal counsel, auditors, and other third-party service providers to ensure each functional met the required deadlines.
- Served as an impartial sounding board to management, providing both PMO expertise and financial acumen.
- Functional areas involved included:
- BoD, Marketing, Merchandising, Operations/Supply Chain, Finance/Accounting, Legal, Strategic Planning, IR, HR, IT, R/E
- Key actions and deliverables included:
- Summary workplan for achieving IPO filing date
- Leadership and coordination of functional areas and external subject matter experts
- Collection and oversight of information required for S-1 drafting and filing
- Dashboards tracking progress and issues/resolution
- Identified and managed cross-functional interdependencies
- Implemented governance model and resolution center
The Results
Working shoulder-to-shoulder with management, functional leads, and external service providers, Accordion enabled the Company to achieve its initial S-1 filing by the target date while continuing to operate business-as-usual and maintain the Company’s success that led to investor interest in the first place. Additionally, our team helped the Company understand and plan for the requirements associated with operating as a public company post-IPO.