Vipshop shares gain 124 percent since IPO

The Chinese web retailer Vipshop Holdings Ltd. (VIPS) that sells brands including Calvin Klein and Nike at a discount, is handing investors the best returns among foreign companies that went public in the U.S. this year as slower growth

in the Asian nation stokes demand for low-cost items, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Vipshop has a business model that works favourably even when the economy slows,” Donghao Yang, the company’s chief financial officer, said by e-mail Dec. 14. “U.S. investors recognize the value of a company like Vipshop that can deliver strong top and bottom line improvement consistently.”

Shares of Vipshop have rocketed, adding an impressive 124 percent since the Guangzhou-based firm’s March initial public offering. The gain topped those of the 17 other non-American companies that debuted on US exchanges in 2012, reminded Bloomberg. Vipshop’s rally beats the 6.4 percent 2012 increase in the Bloomberg China-US Equity Index (CH55BN) of the most-traded Chinese shares in the U.S.

Vipshop has surged since September to surpass its IPO price, after having to sell shares below target in the offering as demand for Chinese stocks in the U.S. faltered. The stock climbed 19 percent tearlier in December to a record 14.56 dollars. Vipshop was one of three Chinese companies going public in the United States in 2012.

Vipshop’s outperformance was driven by the company “delivering on revenues and earnings growth,” Josef Schuster, founder of Chicago-based Ipox Schuster LLC, which oversees about 2 billion dollars, said by e-mail Dec. 14. “Vipshop is likely to continue its strong momentum as long as growth rates can be maintained.”