Bicycle Brand Ninety One Raises $30 Mn From A91 Partners LLP, Eyes Global Expansion

Bicycle and sustainable mobility brand Ninety One has raised about $30 Mn (INR 225 Cr) in its series A funding round led by A91 Partners LLP.

Ninety One will use the funding to invest in its manufacturing facilities in Gujarat, build its electric cycles portfolio and expand into the global market. 

Post the investment, Ninety One is now valued at INR 1,000 Cr, it said.

A company statement said that A91 Partners LLP invested INR 160 Cr in the round and the rest of INR 65 Cr was infused by Fireside Ventures, Avaana Capital and Titan Capital.

With this investment, A91 Partners’ VT Bharadwaj, Fireside Venture’s Vinay Singh and Avaana Capital’s Sandeep Singhal will join the board of directors of AlphaVector (India), the parent company of the brand Ninety One.

Talking about the investment round, Sachin Chopra, cofounder and CEO, Ninety One said, “The current funding round will help us catalyse growth multi-fold as we use the capital to deepen our supply chain, strengthen our distribution channels and build our brand story.”

Vishal Chopra, cofounder and head of digital, Ninety One said the funding will help the company to consolidate its presence by accelerating its D2C reach.

“We will invest in our omnichannel capabilities by making it seamless for our consumers to discover, consider and purchase Ninety One products across our digital (website and marketplaces) and offline channels.  We will also be investing in our WYND social fitness app and Hub91 mobile based ERP,” he said.

The company claims to sell over 20,000 bicycles sales per month, with presence across over 1,000 retail points in more than 500 cities and around 1 Mn monthly unique visitors to its site.

Founded in 2015, Ninety One plans to increase its research and engineering focus on the kids and women category for sustainable mobility, and expects these categories to contribute 50% of its sales over the next two years.

The bicycle industry has witnessed a massive growth in demand in the past two years largely backed by the growing interest for fitness and healthy lifestyle amid the pandemic.

On December 20, 2021, fitness and wellness unicorn Cult.fit acquired four equipment brands including the bicycle brand Urban Terrain, in a bid to consolidate its position in the fitness D2C space. With the acquisition of Urban Terrain, Cult.fit has forayed in the bicycle business.

AlphaVector competes with both new and established players in the segment including Hero Cycles, Avon Cycles, Firefox, B’Twin from Decathlon.

According to a report by Goldstein Research, the online distribution channel has boosted the sales of bicycles in the country. However, sales through the offline stores is still a preferred option by the 80% of the consumers who belong to the middle and lower income group and have a higher preference for physical shopping, it said. 

Further, the trend of e-bikes is setting up ground for the growth of new and existing entrants. Globally e-bikes are expected to contribute 50% value share by 2022 to the total bicycle industry, said the report. Goldstein Market Intelligence analysts have projected the India bicycle industry to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% over the forecast period of 2017-2030.

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