Solo Brands, a Southlake-based maker of fire pits, camping stoves, and other outdoor lifestyle products, has filed for an initial public offering.

According to the company’s SEC filing, it stated a listing size of $100 million, though that’s most likely a placeholder number that will change. Bloomberg previously reported Solo Brands is seeking a valuation of more than $1 billion in its IPO listing.

Its shares would be listed on the NYSE under the symbol “DTC.” According to the company, it had $254 million in sales for the 12 months ending June 30 and generated around 42 million unique site visits on its brand websites last year.

Solo Brands is anchored by four distinct adventurous lifestyle brands: Chubbies Shorts, Oru Kayak, ISLE, and its flagship, Solo Stove.

Founded in 2011 by two brothers, Solo Stove combines a passion for e-commerce with the outdoor community. Its first direct-to-consumer offering was the Solo Stove Lite, a portable backpacking camp stove that doesn’t require synthetic fuel, but the team has since expanded to make stainless steel, “virtually smokeless” fire pits.

Then last month, the company expanded in a much bigger way.

Solo Stove acquired Chubbies Shorts, Oru Kayak, and ISLE to unveil an entirely new house of brands under the Solo Brands name, with a mission to “build a better, customer-obsessed, community-oriented, direct-to-consumer experience.”

Introducing Solo Brands

Solo Brands, which has more than 220 employees, aims to create synergies and optimize resources across all entities by leveraging enhanced technology, processes, and operations. The newly combined company allowed Chubbies Shorts, Oru Kayak, and ISLE to offer faster shipping, higher quality manufacturing, and unified back-office functions.

Chubbies Shorts is a maker of American-made men’s weekend wear; Oru Kayak is a designer of elegant and accessible folding kayaks; and ISLE creates paddleboards for yoga, fishing, touring, and surfing.

Seeking to make a positive social impact

A big factor in the creation of Solo Brands was making a positive social impact. Each of these companies had a history of supporting causes both locally and globally—expanding access to mental healthcare, planting trees to offset carbon emissions, protecting biodiversity—and Solo Stove wanted to ensure that mantra stuck.

The ideal consumers for Solo Brands are active and enjoy spending time outdoors with the people they love, the company previously told Dallas Innovates. They appreciate connection, with the environment and their own circle, and care about purchasing from brands that give back.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a large factor in cultivating that mindset.

“The pandemic has certainly helped spur an interest in products that help you get outside and allow you a moment of connection,” the company told us. “But the outdoor industry has seen continued growth for many years even pre-pandemic, as more people find ways to connect in the outdoors.”

While Chubbies is headquartered in Austin, and Oru Kayak and ISLE in California, the Solo Stove team isn’t focused on location. The team says they’re honing in on brands that are “building a responsible business by supporting their customers, the communities they adore, and the environment they adventure in.”

In addition to an IPO, Solo Brands is conversing with other brands that share its obsession with delivering exceptional customer experiences and helping customers create memorable moments.

The team considers all of its brands as growing leaders in the landscape of delivering a customer-first, DTC-native approach. 

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