Remodeling Marketplace Houzz Taps Goldman Sachs for IPO Prep

Houzz, which offers online remodeling and home furnishing services, will be getting ready for an initial public offering (IPO) with the help of Goldman Sachs, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported Thursday (Oct. 21).

Houzz hopes to make its public debut in early 2022, according to the report. Last year, the company cut 10% of its staff, trimmed executive salaries, and did away with plans for its own furnishings line in response to the downturn in business due to the pandemic’s economic impact.

However, Houzz has seen a bit of a resurgence, owing to the sheer amount of people spending more time at home in the past two years and a renewed demand for remodeling services, the report stated.

Last year, CEO Adi Tatarko said the company saw 60% growth in homeowners looking for help from professionals, and the company has since branched out with new services like Houzz Pro, a project and customer management service used by contractors, according to the report.

As it goes public, Houzz is likely to face questions on whether pandemic-related home improvements will continue to boom as businesses and employees return to the office, the report stated.

Marine Sargsyan, the company’s senior economist, has said the unexpected advent of the pandemic had the effect of cooling off much of the optimism of the early parts of 2020.

Read more: Home Remodeling Businesses Take Hit as Consumers Push Pause on Projects

In April 2020, she said entrepreneurs were still optimistic and thought 2020 would turn out well.

Sixty-six percent in the construction sector said they were positive, while 56% in the architectural and design sector said the same thing.

This could have been because the year started strong and companies had healthy backlogs even by the second quarter; however, shipping delays and similar issues were already starting to make themselves known at that time.