SUMMARY
The company has been valued at $2.5 Mn
Funds will be used for strategic collaborations etc
The investment will be used towards expanding sales and marketing efforts
Rannvijay Singha’s Mumbai-based fashion retail startup Disrupt has raised an undisclosed amount in Pre-Series A funding. The investment came from Fynd cofounders Harsh Shah and Farooq Adam; former CEO of FCB Ulka Ambi Parameswaran, Anil Gelra and Mumbai-based VC firm First Cheque.
The company has been valued at $2.5 Mn. The funds will be used to further invest in strategic collaborations, research and development, executive appointments, talent acquisition and offline retail expansion. Further, the funds will also be utilised for expanding its sales and marketing efforts.
Founded in 2018 by Rannvijay Singha and Shakeef Khan, Disrupt combines utility, street style, and quality for all the casual wear outfits. The startup said it will focus on keeping Rannvijay Singha’s fashion sense – free, wild-spirited and originality – in mind.
The startup claims to have amassed over 12 Mn unique brand impressions using influencers with varied affinity including top influencers from MTV, Desi Rap Scene, Bollywood, and Youtube. It is now looking to partnering with influencers with aspirational life stories to co-create authentic collaborations in a form of capsule collections.
Rannvijay Singha-led Disrupt has nearly 250 influencers, designers, suppliers and manufacturers on its rolls in a span of one year. It envisions to provide affordable ready to wear to consumers.
Harsh Shah, cofounder, Fynd said, “The Disrupt team is the right balance of humble, down-to-earth, fundamental businessmen having deep experience in building and running a fashion label along with the means to have the right connect with budding celebrities. With fashion always being highly trend focused the opportunity of co-creating capsule collections along with a personality is unique and interesting.”
Influencer Fashion Catches On
As more and more Indians get online, one of the biggest changes is the way Indians shop and who they relate to. Platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra have become bywords for fashion shopping in the urban market.
The Indian online fashion market is estimated to hit $12 Bn-$14 Bn by 2020, and the market, according to Technavio, is expected to grow “impressively” at a CAGR of around 63% by 2020.
With the rise of social media and ecommerce platforms, more and more users are buying apparel online, including from homegrown brands. This includes the likes of Chumbak, TheSouledStore, Bewakoof, Happily Unmarried and more, which have grown from small social media pages to big brands which resonate with the youth of India.
In the online fashion space, beyond market biggies such as Amazon and Flipkart, FabAlley competes with the likes of StalkBuyLove, Voonik, Google-backed Fynd, etc. The market is also seeing fresh competition from Chinese fashion brands like Shein, ClubFactory etc which have gained popularity with their affordable prices and contemporary clothing.
Shakeef Khan, CEO and cofounder, Disrupt believes that the market will continue to see a shift towards both content marketing and programmatic advertising as consumer brands increase their reliance on content-centric programs and look to scale those efforts.
