Lingerie etailer Clovia raises $4 mn for expansion

Delhi-based Purple Panda Fashions, which operates online-first lingerie and sleepwear retailer Clovia, has raised $4 million (about Rs 29.5 crore at current exchange rates) in a fresh round termed as pre-Series C, led by Golden Birch Investments and SheCapital Venture Fund.

As part of the deal, Anisha Singh, founder of SheCapital Venture Fund, will join Clovia’s board.

“In the next 2-3 years, we plan to continue to grow from strength to strength on the back of category growth, and product innovation. Clovia is currently loved by 2 million customers and the number should double up in the 2-3 years. While we are steadily on that path, we’re also encountering a host of organic/inorganic opportunities to grow internationally,” Pankaj Vermani, CEO and founder, Clovia, said.

The funds will be deployed to expand into new categories, branding, enhancing technology, and strengthening the teams, the statement said.

Clovia designs, manufactures and sells fashion lingerie, innerwear, nightwear, and shapewear through its websites and other ecommerce portals like Myntra, Flipkart and Amazon. It also sells through exclusive retail stores and other retail chains. It is present in over 200 stores across 50 locations.

The company, formerly known as Cloe, was founded in 2013 by husband-wife duo Neha Kant and Vermani, along with friends Suman Choudhry and Aditya Chaturvedi. It was renamed as Clovia in June 2015. Chaturvedi moved on from the company in 2016.

Clovia said it has recorded 50% growth in revenue in FY20 over the previous year with 85% sales coming from online channels. The company claims to have achieved profitability post lockdown with a double-digit EBITDA at the back of improved gross margins.

It is backed by Ivy Cap Ventures, Singularity Ventures, Zurich-based Mountain Partners AG and Singapore based AT Capital. The fresh round takes its overall funding to $20 million, according to VCCEdge. Its last major fundraising was in January last year when the company secured $10 million in its Series B funding round led by AT Capital.

Clovia primarily competes with Zivame, beauty e-tailer Nykaa, fashion e-commerce companies such as Myntra and horizontal online retailers such as Amazon and Flipkart.

Zivame  is now an associate company of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries (RIL). RIL, in a stock exchange filing last month, Zivame as an associate company. It now owns more than 15% of the shares in the Bangalore-based company. In July, media reports suggested that RIL-owned Reliance Brands had bought a 15% stake in Zivame from Ronnie Screwvala-backed Unilazer Ventures.