FS Life Secures $6 Mn+ To Enter Offline Space, Acquire New Brands

FS Life, previously known as FableStreet, has raised $ 6.1 Mn (INR 50 Cr) in its Pre-Series B funding round led by Fireside Ventures.

Founders of MamaEarth, Cars 24, The Moms Co. and OfBusiness also participated in the round.

According to the startup, FS Life will use the funds to scale all its sub-brands and acquire or establish new brands in white space, which is essentially a space to explore new opportunities and cater to the unmet needs of customers. The startup will also deploy capital to scale its supply chain tech, hire talent and enter offline retail space.

“We have seen FS Life scale 10x despite covid with unparalleled capital efficiency. We have re-invested in them with the belief that they are set to change the landscape of the fashion industry in India with their insights-driven design innovation, efficient supply chain and sizing for Indian women,” said Dipanjan Basu, partner at Fireside Ventures.

Set up in September 2016 by NSIT and IIM graduate Ayushi Gudwani, FS Life was originally started with a single brand FableStreet and gradually became a house of brands after the launch of sub-brands Marigold and Mikoto. 

Primarily, FableStreet sells women-focused premium western apparel while Mikoto sells silver and semi-precious jewellery and Marigold offers traditional Indian outfits for women.

“We have built a capital efficient and profitable business. The operations fund itself and equity capital is only leveraged to build infrastructure and the team to scale. We have also used this opportunity to bring some amazing Founder-angel investors whose guidance in building large scale brands & internet businesses will be of great value to us,” Gudwani said.

FS Life said that it looks to surpass the INR 1000+ Cr revenue run rate in the next three to four years. The startup further claims to have scaled 10x in the past two years by revamping its product offerings. 

In 2019, FS Life secured $2.95 Mn (INR 20 Cr) in its Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures. Pradeep Parameswaran from Uber India, Dilip Khandelwal from Deutsche Bank and Suhail Sameer from RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group also participated in the round.

During Inc42’s D2C Summit, Gudwani said that she anticipates a sharp increase (in business) in the upcoming festive season this year, in contrast with the yesteryear (2021). She further states that a huge chunk of sales will take place in the offline space while categories such as gifting and electronics are not likely to be affected in the festive season. 

In the Indian D2C clothing segment, FS Life competes with the likes of Chumbak, The Souled Store and Bewakoof, among others.

As per an Inc42 report, the country’s D2C segment is likely to become a $302 Bn market by 2030, expanding at a CAGR of 24% between 2021 and 2030.