[Funding Alert] Zivame gets funding of Rs 60 Cr, to be followed by a larger raise soon

Online lingerie retailer Zivame has raised Rs 60 crore funding as part of a bridge round. The funding, led by Zodius Technology Fund and group of HNIs is part of the company's Series C funding extension. The company's MCA filings showed that Rs 10 crore has come from Allana Investment and Trading Company.

The Bengaluru-based company operates on a two-company model (a standard in all e-commerce businesses) with Actoserba Active Wholesale Pvt Ltd (“Actoserba”) and Mila Star Retail Pvt Ltd (“Mila Star”). The fresh capital has been infused in the ecommerce business.

Started in 2011 by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar, Zivame started out as a marketplace for the lingerie brands, and later expanded its offerings with active wear, sleepwear, and shape wear. Zivame now also has its own private label.

The funding will be used for the ongoing and future retail expansion, augmentation of technology, product development and strengthening Zivame's omni-channel strategy.

Over the years, Zivame has also taken then omnichannel route, and has about 31 offline stores all over the country, and now looking to expand to 60+ in a years’ time to all major malls and high streets with a special focus on Tier 1 cities, said the company . Zivame has been trying to reinvent itself ever since the founders exited the company.

Amisha Jain, CEO of Zivame, said,

 "The funding will enable us to further enhance our footprint and leadership in existing and newer markets as we continue to build on our mission to be the destination for women for all her intimate needs. We continue to build the category as the Indian lingerie market is largely unorganised and under-served."

Also read: Go figure: How the Big 3 of the Indian online lingerie industry are changing the game

Back in 2015, Zivame had raised Series C funding worth Rs 250 crore led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Government of Malaysia’s strategic investment fund), and Zodius Technology Fund, with participation of its existing investors Unilazer, IDG Ventures, and Kalaari Capital. In May last year, Zodius Capital had increased its stake to at least 45 percent in Zivame by acquiring stakes from Kalaari Capital, and IDG Ventures India. 

Zivame competes with Noida-based lingerie brand Clovia, which raised $10 million in a fresh round of funding led by Singapore-based private equity firm AT Capital in the beginning of the year.

According to E&Y, the retail industry is estimated to be a $650 billion industry, with organised retailing only $65 billion in size including ecommerce. With its ecommerce and omnichannel strategy, Clovia will be going after smaller towns where the market is estimated to be nearly $300 million in size.

Note: We have changed the story and the headline as per the updated information from the company

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