Shares of surf-and-skate retailer Tilly’s jump in trading debut

Shares of surf-and-skate retailer Tilly’s Inc. jumped on the first day of trading in the company’s initial public offering.

The Irvine company’s stock climbed 10% on Friday to close at $17.07, a sign of confidence for a retailer jostling for the same youth shoppers as rivals Zumiez Inc. and Pacific Sunwear of California Inc.

Tilly’s surprised Wall Street by pricing its IPO at a higher-than-expected $15.50 a share Friday. That topped the planned range of $11.50 to $13.50 a share and pointed to healthy demand for the stock.

Operating about 140 stores in 14 states around the country, the retailer sells surf-inspired clothing and accessories from brands such as O’Neill, Billabong and Rip Curl.

In the 2011 fiscal year, Tilly’s reported a profit of $34.3 million, up 41% from $24.4 million in the previous year. Sales also rose 20% to hit $400.6 million.

Tilly’s good fortune has been shared by competitor Zumiez, an action-sports chain in Everett, Wash., that reported a 10.1% jump in same-store sales last month and has shown consistent sales growth in the last year.

Another rival, Pacific Sunwear, has not fared as well. In December, the Anaheim company said it would close as many as 200 of its weaker-performing stores in an effort to turn itself around after a three-year slump.

RELATED:

PacSun to close up to 200 stores

Best Buy to close stores after reporting losses

Consumers spent less freely in April than in the first three months