Hello,
Funding winter but not for Lenskart.
The eyewear brand has raised $100 million from private equity firm Chrys Capital through primary and secondary share purchases. This is after Lenskart raised $500 million from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in March.
Meanwhile, boAt Lifestyle hit a new milestone—recording net sales of ~Rs 4,000 crore in FY23, a 40% jump from the previous fiscal.
ICYMI: “How do I label thee? Let me count the ways,” advertisers to us. Turns out, there are 650,000.
Oh, and there was a special delivery at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday—a Boeing 787 Dreamliner covered in Pokémons stickers. Result of a partnership between All Nippon Airways and The Pokémon Company, the plane is expected to promote tourism between India and Japan.
All aboard the “Pikachu Jet”!
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Mensa Brands’ next growth phase
- Former Flipkart SVP’s new venture
- Bling Bag’s post-pandemic growth
Here’s your trivia for today: Which American tech company is nicknamed the ‘Big Blue’?
Ecommerce
Mensa Brands’ next growth phase
Tiger Global-backed Mensa Brands is set to launch its first exclusive retail store for men’s casual wear brand Dennis Lingo in Mumbai’s Phoenix Market City mall this week. The store is part of the house-of-brands firm’s strategy to help its portfolio brands tap into the offline market.
In an exclusive interview, Founder and CEO Ananth Narayanan explains why more brands from the startup’s portfolio are taking the omnichannel route for growth, even as the company slows down on acquisitions in a tough market.
Unlocking strategies:
- According to Narayanan, offline retail is a natural progression for direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands beyond the Rs 150 crore run rate.
- For Dennis Lingo, Mensa wants to start with five company-owned-company-operated (COCO) stores before opening up the brand to franchisees in 12 months’ time.
- Mensa continues to receive nearly 21% to 22% of global sales from brands it has been working within the US. Last year, the company had said it plans to build 300 brands worth more than Rs 1,000 crore in the next 10 years.
Fintech
Former Flipkart SVP’s new venture
Anil Goteti, former Senior Vice President of Flipkart, and a consumer tech veteran, has launched a credit card and travel rewards platform—Scapia, marking his venture into the fintech space.
Scapia offers a digital credit card, in partnership with Federal Bank, allowing users to earn rewards on each transaction in the form of Scapia coins.
New grounds:
- Scapia coins can be redeemed on the app itself in the form of discounts for flights and hotel bookings across countries.
- Customers can use the credit card, which is based on the VISA network, across 150 countries and access their transactions in real-time within the app.
- While the founder did not divulge the funding details, sources say the company, which was operating in stealth since January last year, has already raised funding from a clutch of investors.
MSME
Bling Bag’s post-pandemic growth
Harvi Shah launched Bling Bag, a Mumbai-based jewellery brand in 2015, with an initial investment of Rs 1 lakh from her personal savings. However, the company faced a significant roadblock in 2019 when its subscription model—where customers received personalised jewellery bags—did not see the expected growth.
Just as Bling Bag started gaining momentum and made a revenue of Rs 1.3 crore in FY20—the COVID-19 pandemic struck. For several months, the company did not receive any orders.
Being relevant:
- Bling Bag shifted from a subscription-based model to a traditional ecommerce model in 2019.
- The company offers over 1,000 designs and 50 unique colour shades in earrings and necklaces. Recently it also introduced Bollywood-inspired sarees in its portfolio.
- Shah also started a coaching initiative—Fashionpreneur—which equips women with the knowledge and skills to establish their own fashion ecommerce businesses. The paid community has grown from 8 to 3,500 members in two and a half years.
News& updates
- Driven by AI: Mercedes-Benz said U.S. drivers could power some of their luxury vehicles with ChatGPT in a test programme starting June 16. The tech is compatible with some 900,000 vehicles that have the automaker’s “MBUX” systems.
- Call the tune: On behalf of 17 music publishers, the National Music Publishers’ Association filed a suit in the federal district court of Nashville alleging that Twitter “consistently and knowingly” facilitated and profited from copyright infringement by allowing users to post music without permission.
- Warmed up: Global temperatures during the first 11 days of June have hit the highest level on record for the time of the year. The heat has also caused temperatures to exceed pre-industrial levels by more than 1.5C this month.
What you should watch out for
- Finance Ministry officials to meet Moody’s representatives to pitch for a rating upgrade.
- NCLT’s next hearing of aircraft lessor Wilmington’s plea against SpiceJet.
- World Sea Turtle Day.
Which American tech company is nicknamed the ‘Big Blue’?
Answer: IBM
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