What: After splitting off the brand’s e-commerce business into a separate entity earlier this year, public offering could value the company at USD 6 billion and take place in first half of 2022, people familiar with the matter said. It was last valued at $2 billion in March.

Why it is important: The IPO plan underscores the revived fortunes Saks is enjoying, thanks to surging online sales. The company has said the online unit’s gross merchandise value, a measure of sales, increased 82% from the second quarter in 2019 to the same period this year.

An IPO would be the second phase of a deal struck earlier this year that separated the e-commerce business from Saks’ bricks-and-mortar retail operations. The move, meant to help fuel the digital unit’s growth. Meeting with bankers is typically one of the first steps toward a listing, though there are no guarantees Saks will move forward with one or receive such a valuation. Market conditions and other unpredictable factors heavily influence IPO plans.

The separation from bricks-and-mortar retail operations, which is purely financial, provides the company with additional capital to invest in the digital unit. From customers’ perspective, little has changed: The Saks brand name remains on both the stores and website, and shoppers can buy online and make returns in stores as usual. Behind the scenes, the online business oversees marketing and merchandising for both channels, and the stores receive affiliate fees in recognition of the online sales and other benefits a physical presence can drive.

Saks e-commerce prepares IPO