Australian discount department store business Best & Less plans to raise about A$72.3 million through an initial public offering at A$2.15 a share, according to a term sheet that was sent to potential investors this week.The retailer aims to list on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in mid-June with a market capitalisation of A$271.2 million, or four times its pro forma forecast EBITDA for the 2021 calendar year. The IPO caps off a strong period of growth for Best & Less, which operates 246 bricks-and-mortar stores across the Best & Less and Postie chains in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. Total sales revenue in the 12 months ended 30 November 2020 was A$629 million, with like-for-like sales up 13.5 per cent and online sales rising 80 per cent to A$57 million, or 9.1 per cent of total sales. Best & Less CEO Rodney Orrock attributed the growth to the business’ focus on value, which gained relevance amidst the economic uncertainty caused by Covid-19.“While the business was experiencing strong sales before the pandemic, it has provided a strong tailwind as customers increasingly focused on value,” he said in a statement released at the end of 2020, adding that “consumer demand for our proposition of ‘twice the quality at half the price’ is here to stay.”Best & Less is forecasting a 6 per cent increase in revenue this year to A$676 million, despite some forced store closures due to Covid-19. Crowded and competitive sectorThe majority of Best & Less’ revenue comes from its baby and kids’ categories, which gives it an important point of difference in the crowded and competitive discount department store sector, according to Australian retail expert Gary Mortimer.“We know that Kmart still appears to be the market leader in relation to sales and profit, but we also can see that Woolworths has really turned around their Big W operation, and of course, we’ve now seen a revitalised Harris Scarfe in the marketplace,” Mortimer, an associate professor of marketing at Queensland University of Technology, told Inside Retail. “It is quite a crowded and competitive market, so I think it’s vitally important for Best & Less and really any of the players to clearly differentiate themselves from the group.”Compared to Kmart and Big W, which have a bigger focus on homewares and general merchandise, Best & Less has a much stronger apparel offer, particularly in the baby and kids’ categories.  Pointing to the retailer’s recent TVCs, he noted that a key message for Best & Less is the quality of its products given their price, a potential gap in the market following the decline of Target Australia. “It’s really positioning them as ‘best’ and ‘less’,” he said. “So best quality and lowest price.”Wesfarmers’ Catch a sizable competitorOne area where Best & Less could find it hard to compete is online. Despite the launch of click-and-collect in Best & Less stores nationwide last year, Kmart and Target Australia are further ahead in this space, thanks to their parent company Wesfarmers’ acquisition of the nearly A$1 billion e-commerce giant Catch Group. “The Wesfarmers discount store group model — Catch and Target and Kmart together — really is a sizable competitor to compete against,” Mortimer said. “But in saying that it doesn’t mean you can’t differentiate yourself and carve out a niche part of the marketplace.”Best & Less stores are generally smaller than the likes of Kmart, Big W and Harris Scarfe, which may give the retailer more opportunities to enter different types of shopping centres. Allegro to retain majority stakeBest & Less is owned by private equity firm Allegro Funds, which bought the business from Steinhoff International’s Australasian subsidiary Greenlit Brands in November 2019, along with Harris Scarfe and Debenhams. Allegro sold Harris Scarfe to the Spotlight Group in April 2020, and the sole Debenhams in Australia closed in early 2020. Allegro will retain 70 per cent of its shares in Best & Less through the IPO.