Irvine Clothing Company Strolls Down the Wall Street Runway

Mossimo Inc., the stylish men’s sports and active wear company, donned pinstripes Thursday, making its initial public offering and paving the way for trading to start today on the New York Stock Exchange.

Mossimo’s initial public stock offering of 4 million common shares was priced at $18 million, giving the company a market value of $270 million. The size of the offering was increased by 1 million shares to 4 million shares, and the stock surpassed the $14- to $16-per-share price initially anticipated by underwriters.

Retail industry observers tied the higher-than-anticipated number of shares and the hefty per-share price to the market’s willingness to embrace retail stocks. Wall Street has shown a particular interest in companies like Mossimo that produce fashionable merchandise for retail stores.

A public offering last year by Irvine-based Oakley Inc., the sunglass manufacturer, boosted the value of shares held by chairman and founder Jim Jannard to more than $530 million. The market also favorably greeted Gucci Group, which generated $539 million through an initial offering, and the Victoria’s Secret chain, which raised $680 million.

Mossimo, the company, sold 3 million shares Thursday. Founder and Chairman Mossimo Giannulli sold 1 million shares.

The company plans to use proceeds of the offering to pare down its debt and increase its presence in major department and specialty shops.

Mossimo’s symbol on the exchange is MGX.