Plum eyes Rs 300 Cr annualised revenue run rate, to expand offline presence

Beauty brand Plum is expanding its portfolio to add new products across categories like haircare and skincare, as well as bolstering its retail presence in the country as the beauty brand aims to hit Rs 300 crore annualised revenue run rate by first quarter of FY23.

The company, which has raised funding from investors like Unilever Ventures, Faering Capital and others, is also looking at strengthening its international business in markets like the US, Middle East and South Asia.

"There's a lot more that's coming up in skincare, which is again our mainstay... overall, I think the growth has been driven by existing portfolio as well as a lot of the new portfolio...We are right now at Rs 225 crore-plus annualised revenue run rate (at net level)," Plum founder and CEO Shankar Prasad told PTI.

He added that the company "should be comfortably at about Rs 250-260 crore at the end of FY22".

"We are targeting Rs 300 crore annualised revenue run rate, so end of Q1 FY23 at around Rs 75 crore," he further said.

Revenue run rate is a term used in online retailing to indicate the total value of merchandise sold through the marketplace over a certain period of time.

Founded in 2013, Plum's products are now available in over 225 towns and cities in India, through more than 750 assisted outlets, and over 10,000 unassisted outlets.

Prasad said 65 per cent of its sales comes from online platforms with the remaining coming from brick and mortar stores.

"Both online and offline are doing well for us. Retail got impacted in Q1 of this financial year but I think the bounce back has been terrific, and online continues to grow. There is only one way for online to go in India with only 10 per cent of the topline coming in from online channels, that percentage will continue to grow. The good news is that the broader market - that 90 per cent - is very much alive and kicking," he added.

Talking about the company's expansion plans in the offline retail space, Prasad said Plum opened its first exclusive store at R City, Mumbai in August 2021 and plans to open several more in the coming months.

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"The idea is to open many more - three more are under fit out as we speak in Chennai, Hyderabad and another one in Mumbai. These are expected to go live before the end of the fiscal. What that does is bring the brand at the front and centre into the customer's minds and hands. Users are able to see the entire range and then decide for themselves," he said.

By FY'23, Plum should be at the count of 25-30 such stores and 18 months from now, be at 40-50 stores, Prasad noted.

"We are looking at 400-500 sq ft space in an area where our target segment is active. The biggest challenge in retail is the location and I think finding these locations of the size in today's scenario for a brand like us, we are quite confident of getting there...We are looking at Rs 15-20 crore investment in these stores," he added.

He further said Plum's products are already present in markets like the US.

"We are present in the US, we are just getting into the Middle East. We are present in Kenya, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka is starting soon, Philippines, Malaysia, so I think largely I would say Asia. Europe is yet not big for us, so we'll start soon and in Africa (as well)," he added.

Revenues from international business is currently under 5 per cent, and that "it will maximum become 8-10 per cent next year because there is so much to do locally".

Asked if the company was looking at acquisitions, Prasad answered in the affirmative.

"If we feel that synergies are there, the brand (which is intended for acquisition) brings something in terms of capabilities or access to a customer that we are currently lacking or secondly, we will be able to execute on assimilating and growing what is acquired without impacting organic growth. I am not a fan of bulking up by adding brands to the portfolio, it has to have these two conditions satisfied," he added.