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Direct-to-commerce (D2C) fashion and lifestyle brand Zouk has raised $10 million in a funding round led by Aavishkaar Capital.
The round also saw participation from existing investors Stellaris Venture Partners, Titan Capital Winners Fund, Sharrp Ventures and the JJ Family.
The funds will be used for expanding the network of exclusive brand outlets, strengthening marketing and supply chain capabilities, and investing in talent recruitment.
The brand currently has four exclusive brand outlets and is targeting a total of 75 outlets in the next two to three years.
Founded in 2016 by Disha Singh and Pradeep Krishnakumar, the Mumbai-based brand offers bags, wallets, and footwear. The company is known for making Peta-approved bags and other products using “vegan leather”.
“Today, a large portion (90%) of the business is online. The offline segment is still small since it has only been a year since we opened our first store. However, offline is performing well and shows a lot of promise, which is why we want to double down on this opportunity,” Krishnakumar told ET.
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In the online space, the company sells its products through its D2C website, marketplaces as well as quick commerce.“From a distribution point of view, we have the entire marketplaces business where we are expanding. Quick commerce is something very new for us and also very exciting because it’s great for both self-consumption and gifting, which we’ve seen play out really well in the early days. I believe it will scale up quite rapidly for us,” he said.
“From a collection standpoint, we are going to massively expand our offerings across handbags, backpacks, totes, and satchels to broaden the range we provide,” Krishnakumar added.
The brand claims to have over 700,000 customers across India. This year, it entered the luggage market with backpacks and trolley bags. The luggage space has players like Peak XV Partners-backed Mokobara, which raised $12 million earlier this year, Accel-backed Uppercase and Lighthouse Funds-backed Safari Industries.
India’s online lifestyle market is set to reach $40-45 billion by 2028, compared to its current size of $16-17 billion, according to a joint report by management consulting firm Bain & Company and fashion marketplace Myntra.
It has raised a total of $14.5 million to date.
It last raised $3 million in a round led by Stellaris Venture Partners with participation from Sharrp Ventures, JJ Family Office, Deutsche Bank India CEO Dilip Khandelwal, Atomberg founder Manoj Meena and founders of Sugar Cosmetics Vineeta Singh and Kaushik Mukherjee.
Commenting on the investment, Divya Gupta, investment director, Aavishkaar Capital, said, “With plans to expand its product portfolio and exclusive brand outlets, we believe Zouk is well-positioned to capture a significant share of the rapidly growing bags and accessories market in India. We are confident that with our partnership, Zouk will continue to innovate and grow, making a lasting impact in the lifestyle segment.”
“Zouk’s journey and customer love have been very exciting for us to be a part of from its early days. The team has shown great capital efficiency in building the business so far and has bold plans for the coming years,” Rahul Chowdhri, partner, Stellaris Venture Partners.
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