Acorn International celebrated the 10th anniversary of the company’s initial public offering (IPO) earlier this week. On May 3, 2007, the company made its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) for more than 8,855,000 American Depositary Shares (ADSs). Acorn went on to gain 39% from the IPO price of $15.50 ADS during its first day of trading. The deal generated net proceeds of more than $108.9 million for the company, with Deutsch Bank Securities and Merrill Lynch Co. acting as joint book runners for the offering.
Robert Roche, Acorn International’s founder, chief executive officer and executive chairman, recognized that this anniversary was a major milestone for the company. “I am proud of the resiliency Acorn has shown in the face of major headwinds during our first decade as a public company,” Roche stated in a press release. “Offering some of China’s best known and trusted products, Acorn is committed to supporting our own brands and building a reputation as a trusted partner for top foreign brands entering China.”
Acorn International is one of China’s leading marketing and branding companies. It has grown a reputation for developing and marketing some of China’s most popular consumer-branded products since it was co-founded by Robert Roche in 1998. Acorn is organized into two main divisions, a direct-sales platform and a nationwide distribution network. Acorn’s direct-sales business markets and sells products directly to consumers through the company’s outbound marketing platform, as well as through an online sales platform. The company’s distribution network distributes these products throughout all provinces in China, reaching more than 2,200 retail outlets across the country.
Since its inception, the company has also developed proprietary-branded product lines such as the Ozing line of electronic learning products and Babaka posture-correction products. Acorn has also developed several proprietary kitchen and household products that are now sold throughout China.
Robert Roche founded and has managed Acorn International with the goal of taking the world’s best products, designs and management practices and offering them to Chinese consumers. He has led the company through a number of business challenges, recently leading a business turnaround in 2016 which resulted in the first net profit for the company since 2011.
Robert Roche 