Hong Kong
CNN Enterprise
—
Taiwan’s newest entrant to Wall Road has had a tough journey because it went public per week in the past.
Shares of Good Corp., a software program firm that enables customers to just about attempt on make-up or jewellery from manufacturers reminiscent of Estée Lauder, LVMH and Shiseido, have fallen greater than 40% from their itemizing value since they started buying and selling on the New York Inventory Alternate per week in the past.
Good Corp. lends its expertise to magnificence and trend manufacturers. It makes use of augmented actuality and synthetic intelligence to assist customers check merchandise on-line earlier than they purchase them.
The agency’s valuation rose to roughly $1 billion after merging with Provident Acquisition Corp., a particular goal acquisition firm (SPAC), days earlier than its itemizing. Shares of the newly mixed enterprise started buying and selling final Monday underneath the ticker image “PERF,” and have since slid about 46% from the opening value of $15.80.
The broader S&P 500 index has misplaced roughly 14% within the final 5 days, in response to information supplier Refinitiv Eikon.
SPACs are shell firms with restricted or no working property. They normally go public solely to boost cash from buyers that’s then used to purchase current companies.
Daniel Ives, managing director and senior fairness analyst of Wedbush Securities, stated buyers could possibly be cautious about Good Corp. as a result of “in a risk-off market, an augmented actuality play with Taiwanese roots is a glass-half-empty title.”
“Tech shares throughout the board have been weak and any geopolitical added dangers might be a priority on this market,” he advised CNN Enterprise.
Taiwan is a self-governed democratic island that the Communist management in Beijing has lengthy claimed as a part of its territory, regardless of having by no means dominated over it. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this yr, some overseas buyers have expressed concerns over the danger that China may enhance its army pressure in opposition to Taiwan.
Good Corp. stated it raised roughly $119 million within the deal.
The corporate selected to listing in the US as a result of a lot of its clientele relies there, founder and CEO Alice Chang stated in an interview with CNN Enterprise. She stated that she was sporting her personal “digital make-up” and digital earrings on the video name.
Chang began Good Corp. in 2015 as a part of a unit at Cyberlink, a tech firm in Taiwan, which later spun it off as a separate enterprise. Cyberlink continues to be one of many agency’s buyers, together with world manufacturers reminiscent of Chanel, Goldman Sachs
(GS) and Snap
(SNAP).
Chang stated the corporate would use the proceeds from its SPAC merger to broaden in Southeast Asia, fund analysis and improvement, and double down on new capabilities of its expertise, reminiscent of letting customers attempt on equipment past jewellery.
“We simply joined jewellery, trend,” she stated. “That is just the start.”
Good Corp. is a part of the software-as-a-service business. The agency now has workplaces in cities all over the world, together with New York, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai, and caters to greater than 450 manufacturers, stated Chang.
It introduced in $40.8 million in income final yr, and is aiming for gross sales of more than $100 million by 2024, in response to regulatory filings.
It began with a selfie, in response to Chang.
About 9 years in the past, Chang would regularly take pictures of herself to share with family and friends, and infrequently discovered herself wishing there was a approach for customers to immediately polish their appearances. The concept finally led to a cell app referred to as YouCam, which permits customers to immediately retouch their pores and skin with out wanting “faux,” she stated.
The query was: “How can I hyperlink the digital magnificence with the true world magnificence?” Chang recalled. “I imagine in the event you let [the] person attempt extra, they’ll purchase extra.”
That speculation has carried the corporate ahead on its pitch to manufacturers, at the same time as well-liked shopper platforms reminiscent of Instagram supply related filtering expertise.
Good Corp. is one among a handful of Taiwanese firms to listing in the US lately, in response to Dealogic information.
Its arrival comes simply months after Gogoro (GGR), a Taiwanese electrical scooter startup backed by Al Gore and one among Apple’s largest suppliers, had its own day on Wall Street. The corporate additionally went public in New York this April after merging with a SPAC, elevating not less than $335 million in money on the time. Its shares are down 68% to date this yr.