In the world of immense demand for online fashion and fresh trends, many comparatively newer players have stood out through aggressive focus on consumer demands and constantly upgrading themselves. One such brand that has been creating news lately is FabAlley, an online to offline high end fashion platform which is predominantly focused on women’s clothing, founded by Shivani Poddar and Tanvi Malik in 2012. The brand has recently acquired major investments from SAIF partners, India Quotient Opportunities Fund, Abhishek Dalmia, Star Global Resources, Atma Ram Builders, Ashwin Babulal Shah, Pratima Singh and Harki Properties and Investments. According to Inc42, the company has offered 1, 16,449, Series B2 preference shares to its investors on May 29, 2020, at a face value of INR 100 with a premium of INR 1681.92 per share worth INR 20.75 Cr.
The Delhi based online fashion store has forged a successful name for itself over the years through various sub brands that resonated with its consumers. The launch of its ethnic fusion brand, Indya, in 2016 and the launch of a new brand, Zyra, which caters to fashion jewellery has had tremendous impact through its sale on various platforms such as websites and horizontal online marketplaces. These brands have also been made available offline by partnering with over 20 to 30 exclusive brand outlets across the country.
It is said that in January 2020 the company had made a statement that it will grow its retail presence through an increase in its exclusive brand stores to 50 and doubling its shop-in-shops in over 650 locations, in the coming 12 to 18 months. At the moment the valuation report values the company at INR 197.43 Cr with its equity value being INR 1401 per share which took a 5 percent hit from the previous year when it stood at INR 2925 per share. The operational revenues of the company stand at 127.66 Cr in the FY20 which has gone up exceptionally with respect to the previous year which stood at INR 87.48 Cr, while the company expects to earn operational revenue of INR 168.69 Cr in the financial year leading up to 2021.
On a conversation with Inc42, the company’s founder Shivani Poddar said that the fall in its enterprise value from INR 514 Cr in November 2019 to INR 271 Cr in May 2020 is due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shivani also clarified that this was a convertible note round where valuation wasn’t a real criterion and upon the commencement of the next round (Series C) the shares would be converted at a new valuation.
The online fashion retail market in India is expected to reach $35 billion by 2020 according to a research by Google India. A slew of potential brands coming to a strong market at a time when economy is in a chaos is challenging. But the amount of investments that come in especially for home grown brands life FabAlley has raised expectations. Therefore the sustenance now depend on the way in which brands grab these opportunities and through the measures they take to satisfy the ever hungry consumer.
