Fashion Startup Styched Acquires Shark Tank India Fame Flatheads To Enter Footwear Segment

Youth fashion startup Styched has acquired online casual sneaker startup Flatheads that rose to fame with its Shark Tank India pitch. Styched marks this as a strategic move to establish itself as a significant startup in the fashion industry.

Founded in 2018 by Ganesh Balakrishnan and Utkarsh Biradar, Bengaluru-based Flatheads specialises in manufacturing all day casual sneakers for the urban population. 

Styched was launched in 2019 by Soumajit Bhowmik and claims that it operates on a zero wastage, zero inventory, and zero warehouse model. 

As a part of the acquisition, initially, Flatheads will offer its existing products through Styched. Gradually, Styched will take over after setting up a team to elevate the offerings. 

Commenting on the acquisition, cofounder Balakrishnan said, “The market is evolving, and it will be a unique journey for the category, different from other parts of the world. It will be fulfilling to see Flatheads being an integral part of the market creation and growth.”

To this, Soumajit Bhowmik, CEO, Styched added, “The acquisition opportunity came to us through a common investor, and we felt it would be a perfect deal for us considering we wanted to launch sneakers in a big way within Styched as well.”

According to him, the technical know-how of Flatheads would really help Styched create a wide range of affordable sneakers collection. So, while Styched will continue to play in the sub-INR 1000 segment, the semi premium segment would have Flatheads as the flagship brand.

Last year, Flatheads raised funds from television anchor and cricket presenter Gaurav Kapur and roped him in as brand ambassador. Back then, Flatheads had plans to  launch back-to-back digital campaigns with Kapur for a year to garner visibility across social media. 

Prior to this, Flatheads raised a total of $1 Mn funding from We Founder Circle, LetsVenture, and  a few angel investors, among others. It claims to be the first sneaker brand to introduce bamboo fibre shoes, catering to the unique needs of the tropical Indian climate. 

Since the pandemic, the D2C industry has been on a roll with acquisition deals and investment announcements. 

On July 5, silver jewellery startup Giva bagged INR 270 Cr in a Series B funding led by Premji Invest.

On the same day, yet another D2C denim brand Freakins announced raising $4 Mn in its seed funding round led by Matrix Partners India and Blume Ventures.