CelebrateExpress.com is getting ready to join the IPO party on Wall Street.
The Kirkland online party store, founded as a catalog operation by the husband and wife team of Mike and Jan Jewell in 1994, yesterday filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise as much as $40 million in an initial public offering.
CelebrateExpress, formerly BirthdayExpress.com, becomes the fifth Seattle area Internet company to file for an initial public offering in the past 45 days. Last year, 17 companies in the state raised $1.1 billion through IPOs. Other Seattle companies currently waiting in the IPO pipeline include Avenue A, Loudeye Technologies, HomeGrocer.com and Onvia.com.
CelebrateExpress.com, however, is a different kind of e-tailer. That's because it started out selling party supplies for children's birthday parties through a catalog and two Eastside brick-and-mortar retail stores.
The company launched its first Web site in April 1996. Internet sales did not comprise a significant portion of the business until late 1998.
Earlier this month the company opened a 32,000-square-foot distribution center in Greensboro, N.C., to accommodate increased sales from the Web and to cut down on shipping expenses. CelebrateExpress.com also recently added several executives with experience in the technology field. Ed Morin, former president of Bellevue's Northwest Nexus, joined the company as chief technology officer last summer and Vicki Brummond, former marketing manager at Humongous Entertainment, joined as vice president of business development in November.
The company, with about 550,000 customers, had sales of $13.1 million for the fiscal year ended May 31. That compares to sales of $9.5 million for the same period in 1998. The company has lost $4.8 million since it was founded.
Its main business is selling supplies, such as pinatas, costumes, balloons and place settings, for children's birthday parties. But the company plans to broaden its scope this year to include adult parties.
The total party supply category was valued at $11.4 billion last year, according to Party & Paper Retailer.
CelebrateExpress.com employs 222 employees, including 70 party planners.
``By combining our large selection of unique products with extensive party planning advice, we offer consumers a one-stop shopping solution that reduces the amount of stress, time and effort involved in planning an event or celebration,'' the company wrote in its filing.
CelebrateExpress plans to trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol CBXP. Robertson Stephens is the lead underwriter on the deal. Money from the stock sale will be used for sales and marketing and to launch new product categories.
Arch Venture Partners with an 11 percent stake, Advanced Technology Partners with a 7 percent stake and Sigma Partners with a 7 percent stake are the primary backers of the company. Mike and Jan Jewell hold 51 percent of the company's shares.
The company competes against Internet startups such as iParty.com and eParties.com as well as bricks-and-mortar chains such as Party Universe and Party City. Wal-Mart, Walgreen's and Safeway are also listed as competitors.
P-I reporter John Cook
can be reached at 206-448-8075
or johncook@seattle-pi.com
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