The upcoming sharemarket float of Kogan.com will remove the online retailer's financial "shackles" and allow it to grow, founder Ruslan Kogan says.
Kogan.com started off as a consumer electronics online store and, 10 years on has expanded to include general merchandise and food, selling well-known brands and its own private labelled products.
Speaking after the release of the Kogan.com prospectus on Thursday, Mr Kogan is eager to expand his group's eponymous private brands, which have a higher profit margin.
The 33-year-old entrepreneur said the company had reached a point where it can't do it on its own anymore.
"Private label requires upfront investment of capital," Mr Kogan told AAP.
"We have products ready to go that have statistically proven demand but we haven't been able to fund that expansion.
"We have achieved what we have achieved so far with our hands tied behind our backs and are now looking forward to having the shackles of those capital constraints removed."
Mr Kogan, who founded the business 10 years ago in his parents Melbourne garage, will continue to be the company's chief executive and will retain control.
He currently holds 70 per cent of Kogan, with the remaining 30 per cent held by chief financial officer David Shafer.
Post-float, Mr Kogan will still retain 50.5 per cent of shares, with Mr Shafer owning 19.1 per cent.
Both men have the option to sell half their stock in 2018 but Mr Kogan said he planned to be with the company for a long time.
"We hold a significant portion of the business and my name's on the door," Mr Kogan said.
"This is my baby. I can't imagine doing anything else."
Kogan.com is expected to have a market capitalisation of $168 million when it floats on the Australian Securities Exchange on June 30.
The public offer, priced at $1.80 a share, will raise $50 million to fund further growth, including in the recently launched Kogan Travel platform and Kogan Mobile, its privately labelled smartphone.
Mr Kogan was tight-lipped about which categories will be targeted with new funding.
Currently the company's private labels extend to fitness equipment, homewares, camping gear, hardware and pet accessories.
The company has about 28,000 products across private and branded labels, about 621,300 unique customers and its site receives 52 million visits annually.
Kogan's FY17 revenue is forecast to be $241.2 million with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $6.9 million.
Profits took a big hit in the first half of FY16 with EBITDA down by $2.4 million to $2.6 million due to warehousing costs and higher volumes of aged inventory, the prospectus said.
Mr Kogan said the inventory issues were related to a troubled rollout of a backend program designed to further automate processes.
"It caused a lot of disruption in the business but the good news is since September last year we have been operating seamlessly," he said.
Kogan acquired Dick Smith's Australian and New Zealand online stores from receivers in March.
Dick Smith has not been included in Kogan's sales forecasts due to its limited trading history as part of the Kogan empire.
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