Months After Laying Off 18% Workforce, Blissclub Nets INR 33 Cr

SUMMARY

Blissclub’s board passed a special resolution on April 29 to issue 16,076 CCPS at a premium of INR 20,428 apiece to raise the funds

Post the allotment, Elevation Capital will own 24.5% stake in the D2C brand while Eight Roads Ventures own 15.79% stake

The fundraise comes months after the Bengaluru-based startup laid off 18% of its workforce, or around 21 employees, in the second week of January

Women-focussed D2C apparel brand BlissClub has raised INR 33 Cr as part of its Pre-Series B funding round led by Elevation Capital, along with participation from Eight Roads Ventures.

As per the startup’s regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Blissclub’s board passed a special resolution on April 29 to issue 16,076 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) at a premium of INR 20,428 apiece to raise the funds.

While Elevation infused INR 19 Cr to acquire 9,256 CCPS, Eight Road Ventures infused INR 14 Cr to pick up 6,820 preference shares. Post the allotment, Elevation will own 24.5% stake in the D2C brand while Eight Roads will own 15.79% stake.

As per the filings, the fresh proceeds will be utilised to meet working capital requirements, for capital expenditure and other general corporate purposes.

Entrackr first reported the development.

The fundraise comes barely three months after Inc42 exclusively reported that the Bengaluru-based startup laid off 18% of its workforce, or around 21 employees, in the second week of January. The retrenchments impacted teams across verticals, including creative, sales, marketing, growth, and product.

At the time, it was reported that the company had laid off employees due to its inability to raise fresh capital amid a high cash burn.

Founded in 2020 by Minu Margeret, Blissclub started operations as an online platform selling activewear products for women but has since diversified its product line and also opened a few offline stores. It also sells through its own website as well as on ecommerce platforms.

Prior to the current round, the startup had raised more $20 Mn in funding.

As per Tofler, the D2C brand’s sales jumped 27% to INR 86.9 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) compared to INR 68.3 Cr in the year ago period. Meanwhile, net losses widened nearly 23% to INR 43.9 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 35.7 in FY23.