When Bark, Inc — then called The Original Bark Company — made its stock market debut via a $1.6bn merger with a blank-cheque company in June, its shares popped 7.5 per cent and its chief executive was bullish.
“There are 63m households in the US [with dogs] and we are in 1.8m,” said Manish Joneja, chief executive of the group, which distributes monthly subscription-based themed dog toy and treat boxes under the name BarkBox. It is currently offering a Spider-Man-themed selection.
Yet since listing, shares in Bark have dropped more than 65 per cent — and it is not alone. After a record year for IPOs globally, a series of freshly listed high-profile consumer companies have found their stock prices underwater as the market turned sour on their growth prospects.