D2C footwear brand Inc.5 Shoes raises $10M in Series A round
Inc.5 Shoes plans to use the funding to expand store count, amplify its online presence, strengthen senior leadership, expand categories, and build backend capacities like inventory management technology.
Shoes, a legacy footwear brand with 25 years of market presence, has raised $10 million in its Series A round led by Carpediem Capital. The round also saw participation from public market investor Param Capital and P3 Venture Fund (Sureka Family Office).
Inc.5 Shoes plans to use the funding to expand store count, amplify its online presence, strengthen senior leadership, expand categories, and build backend capacities like inventory management technology. The brand aims to scale its existing presence by 3x, solidifying its footprint in urban areas and targeting Tier II and Tier III cities.
Founded in 1998, Inc.5 Shoes has over 70 exclusive brand outlets and 200 shop-in-shop touchpoints across the country.
“As we celebrate 25 years at Inc.5, we are particularly excited as this year gives us more than one reason to celebrate. We have recently raised our first institutional round with Carpediem Capital partnering with us in our growth journey," said Amin Virji, Managing Director, Inc.5 Shoes.
"We are extremely excited to have them as our long-term partners who will add immense long-term value in our growth journey. During our 25th year, we also aim to cross our first 100-store mark and we know that this fulfilling journey of successes and growth has only begun,” he added.
“We would like to congratulate the founders and management team for building a prominent domestic footwear brand. Inc.5 retails quality and affordable footwear for Indian women, an evolving demographic given their increasing participation in the workforce. We are excited to be a part of the next stage of Inc.5’s growth journey,” said Abhishek Sharman, Founder of Carpediem Capital, and Saranya Agrawal, Param Capital, in a joint statement.
Dexter Capital Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor to the transaction. ICUL and Antares were the legal advisors to Inc.5 and Carpediem, respectively.
Edited by Megha Reddy