This article was originally published by TheStreet on May 28, 2014
By Sarfaraz A. Khan. Research Asst. Ali Elahi
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- With all the hype surrounding the initial public offering of Alibaba, a little-known, four-year old Chinese company called Jumei International (JMEI), the biggest player in the online beauty products niche, quietly debuted at the New York Stock Exchange.
Jumei, whose shares recently traded around $27, up over 15%, has been growing its revenue, income and customer base at triple-digit rates. The company has a healthy balance sheet, with increasing cash reserves and zero debt.
The Beijing company, valued at $3.2 billion, sells beauty products such as cosmetics, skin care products and fragrances, primarily from its Web site and mobile applications. The company opened its first physical store in Beijing in late 2013. The company is currently eyeing expansion by investing in mobile and growing its exclusive products portfolio.
Jumei's American depository receipts recently traded around $27, up over 15% compared with its IPO price of $22. This makes Jumei a bargain -- on average, shares of Jumei's peers trade at over 50 times their annual sales, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.
