Nykaa Fashion Acquires Pipa Bella As It Targets Offline Expansion Armed With Private Labels

Mumbai-based omnichannel lifestyle retailer Nykaa on Monday (April 12) announced the acquisition of online jewellery brand Pipa Bella to capture the growing market for contemporary fashion jewellery in India. The companies have not not disclosed any financial details of the deal, which was carried out through Nykaa Fashion, the ecommerce unicorn’s fashion platform.

“We have seen a rising trend of personalized, minimalistic and premium fashion accessories in the Indian market. At Nykaa Fashion, we strive to bring the best quality and variety of such products to meet the demand of the audience,” said Adwaita Nayar, CEO of Nykaa Fashion and founding team member, Nykaa.

After the acquisition, Pipa Bella will continue to operate independently and offer products on its own website as well as extend its portfolio to the Nykaa Fashion platform.

Pipa Bella’s founder Shuchi Pandya added that the association will help the brand reach out to a massive number of users visiting Nykaa fashion every month. The company, which was founded in 2013, offers custom made and ready-made fashion jewellery at affordable prices. It has raised $1.6 Mn to date from investors like LionRock Capital and Fireside Ventures.

Meanwhile, Nykaa has added that Pipa Bella, along with other consumer brands, will be an integral part of its offline expansion this year. The company has been adding more brands to its bucket and expanding its own range of private labels to ecommerce platforms. It had acquired fashion brand Twenty Dresses in 2019 to expand its private label.

Nykaa, which was founded by Falguni Nayar in 2012, offers over .5K brands and 130K products to its user base spread across India. It claims to fulfil nearly 1.5 Mn orders a month. The company started its offline operations in 2015 and has about 70 stores, housing luxury brands such as Tom Ford, Jo Malone London, Dior and Givenchy. It is looking to expand into 40 more stores in the coming years.

Nykaa turned profitable in the financial year 2019, when it recorded a revenue of INR 1,160.98 Cr ($159 Mn, at current conversion rate). The company’s bared expenses worth INR 1,157 Cr ($158.6 Mn, at current conversion rate) leading to a profit of INR 2.31 Cr ($316K, at current conversion rate) in FY2019. It has maintained the same growth in FY2020 as well, with revenues increasing 60% to INR 1,860 Cr ($254 Mn). The company did not disclose any other details about its financials.

The fashion retailer was one of the 11 Indian startups that entered the unicorn club last year. It was valued at $1.2 Bn in March 2020 when it raised a $25 Mn funding round led by Steadview Capital. Besides this, it further raised an undisclosed amount from Fidelity Investments reportedly at a valuation of $1.8 Bn in November. Even Bollywood actors Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif invested in the fashion retailer last year.

Now, the company is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in 2021 at a minimum valuation of $3 Bn. The company is contemplating both Indian and overseas listing options . In a runup to the IPO, Nykaa is also looking to raise $50 Mn to $150 Mn at a valuation of $2 Bn with a secondary sale of shares in order to provide an exit to its existing investors — including Techpr Venture, TVS Capital, Lighthouse Ventures and Sharrp Ventures.

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