Lingerie E-com Startup Zivame Raises Series A Funding From IDG & Indo-US Venture Partners

Bangalore based online lingerie store Zivame.com has raised an undisclosed amount in series A funding from venture capital firms IDG Ventures and Indo-US Venture Partners. The store claims it hosts more than 12,000 SKUs from domestic and international brands like Jockey, Triumph, Amante, Enamor, Bw!tch, Inaya, Hanes, Hollywood Fashion Secrets, Lovable among others.

Richa Kar, co-founder and CEO, Zivame said, "The funds will be utilized towards providing better customer experience and making more brands and products available for our customers. They will also be used for scaling our technology and operations and to create more consumer touch points."

Zivame was founded by Richa Kar (CEO) and Kapil Karekar (CTO) and it started its operations in August last year. The company says in its six months of operations, it has witnessed a 120 per cent month-on-month growth and the number of visitors has increased from 6,000 in August, 2011 to over 2.5 lakh in February, 2012.

The store offers a range of products priced from Rs 200 to Rs 3,000 and says its USP is a consultative approach to modern retailing.

The company competes with other lingerie e-tailers such as Mylace, StrapsAndStrings, ShopImagine, OyeGirl, Cilory and HerStyle, among others.

T C Meenakshisundaram, MD, IDG Ventrures India Advisors said, "The lingerie category lends itself extremely well to ecommerce and this category has many successful companies globally. We believe that Zivame will be able to extend its lead significantly with this capital raise."

"Zivame is clearly differentiated in its offering. The focus on content and consultation is unique to the industry and it is exciting to have Zivame in our portfolio of companies," added Vani Kola, managing partner, Indo US venture Partners.

The mode of payments available on the site include cash on delivery (COD), net banking and credit/debit cards and the site has a fitting room section that allows women shoppers to gather information and education about wearing the right lingerie.

"Today online platform enables users to shop without any inhibitions; our plan is to simplify the process of shopping with technology as an enabler. All our consumer touch-points should give a seamless and consistent experience of shopping," said Karekar.

Some other investors in lingerie business include Sequoia Capital which has invested in Lovable Lingerie besides Nalanda Capital which has backed Page Industries, another public listed firm which has the India licence for global brand Jockey.