[Funding alert] Fast-fashion ecommerce startup Styched raises angel funding
The Bengaluru-based startup plans to use the funds to grow its team, open hubs across the country and abroad, for product and marketing initiatives, and to enhance the customer experience.
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Bengaluru-based Styched, an affordable, fast-fashion ecommerce venture, has raised angel funding from a clutch of angel investors. These included Anjan Dutta (IIT Kharagpur, IIM Ahmedabad, Ex-Sr VP Educomp), Iqbal Ahmed (CHRO, Capillary Tech), Rajesh Reddy (IIT Madras, ISB), Kalyan Chakravarthy (IIT Madras, IIM Indore), Naveen V Alluri (IIT Madras, UCSB), Neeraj Singh (IIT Kharagpur, Microsoft), among others.
Iqbal Ahmed, CHRO, Capillary Tech, said,
"Since the time I discovered Styched, it has grown by leaps and bounds. One of the main reasons for me to get involved with the brand is the huge potential of the problem statement, and the unique way they’re trying to solve it. I sincerely believe that Styched is well on its way to creating a true fast-fashion brand, while using technology and machine learning to enable ecommerce without incurring losses."
Styched Team
The round was raised at a valuation of Rs 16 crore. The funding amount secured is still undisclosed by the company.
Styched said the funds would be used to hire more people, invest in marketing, and to open its first overseas office towards becoming a global fast-fashion online brand.
Started by the former director of ecommerce at Capillary Technologies, Soumajit Bhowmik, Styched is looking to become an affordable global fashion brand in the online space, targeting millennials in the 16-30 age group. The startup plans to incorporate digital marketing and influencer strategies to grow its user base.
Apart from Soumajit, the core team comprises Saswata Banerjee (CTO) and Sony Bhowmik (leading customer service). A few other industry veterans are set to join the team this quarter.
Soumajit, the CEO of the startup, claims Styched's orders have grown from a meagre 20 in February 2019, when the company was started, to more than 5,000 in September 2019, and is growing at more than 60 percent month-on-month. He stated Styched had been profitable since day one, and the team plans to raise the next round by May-June 2020.
According to a report by Deloitte, the ecommerce market is predicted to touch $1.2 trillion in 2021, against its current size of $200 billion. Factors such as increased internet penetration, digitisation of payments, and mobile wallet transactions are contributing to a CAGR of 32 percent for the ecommerce industry.
The same report found that millennials are the driving force for ecommerce growth in both urban and rural markets. A staggering 28 percent of millennials’ buying decisions are based on social media recommendations, and 67 percent of them use social media to stay updated on brands. With apparel, food and beverages, footwear, and accessories contributing to a major chunk of the retail pie, Soumajit is confident of Styched’s ability to tap into the Indian millennial population of almost 440 million.
Angel investors Rajesh Reddy and Anjan Dutta added,
“Styched is one of the very few ecommerce brands in India which has taken on the challenge of remaining profitable even at a low-priced basket size. With very intelligent use of technology, they are looking to fill in the common gaps that every brand is facing right now.”
(Edited by Athirupa Geetha Manichandar)
