Online Flea Market Mercari to Debut on TSE Mothers on June 19

May 15, 2018

Tokyo- The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Monday it has approved the listing of Mercari Inc., the operator of the Mercari online flea market app, on the TSE's Mothers market for startups on June 19.

The listing is expected to be the largest this year, with the company's market capitalization estimated to top 300 billion yen.

Mercari users can put up items for sale by providing photos and simple descriptions of them. Television commercials made the app well known, leading to a jump in the number of users.

The app has seen some 70 million downloads in Japan and about 100 million with figures in the United States and Britain combined.

Established in 2013, the Tokyo-based company is expected to post consolidated sales of 35.8 billion yen in the year ending next month.

The initial public offering price of Mercari will be decided on June 11.

Based on an assumed average IPO price of 2,450 yen based on tentative conditions, the company's market capitalization will reach 331.5 billion yen.

The company plans to use proceeds from the IPO mainly to strengthen its services to attract foreign users and develop an artificial intelligence-based program that can detect fake brand and other illegal products.

The Mercari app has made an impact on consumer behavior, including a rise in young people choosing used products over new ones.

Cash and stolen goods had been put on the market, but the operator strengthened countermeasures against such problems. Jiji Press