Vipshop's IPO in March 2012 raised money at $6.50 per American depositary share, a modest price for a Chinese retailer. The Guangzhou company ran online flash sales: each day it offered deep discounts on a brand's clothes, shoes or cosmetics for a short time, then moved on. Chinese brands had unsold stock to clear, and a growing middle class wanted labels at lower prices. Vipshop sat between them.

Clearing Stock for Brands

Eric Ya Shen and Arthur Xiaobo Hong co-founded Vipshop in 2008, along with three other partners. The idea borrowed from the flash-sale sites then popular in Europe and the United States. Vipshop bought or took in excess stock from brands, photographed it and sold it in time-limited sales. Brands got rid of surplus goods without cutting prices in their own stores. Shoppers got a reason to check the site every morning.

A Long NYSE Run

Vipshop priced its IPO at $6.50 per American depositary share on March 23, 2012, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange as VIPS. It sold more shares the next year as sales climbed. The company built its own warehouses and delivery network to control the shopping experience. More than fourteen years after its listing, Vipshop is still public on the NYSE and based in Guangzhou.

Cover: The Fan Peddler, Suzuki Harunobu. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a fan peddler (the traveling merchant).