The Souled Store Raises INR 135 Cr To Open 200 Stores Across India

Omnichannel lifestyle startup The Souled Store has raised INR 135 Cr in a strategic funding round led by Xponentia Capital. The round also saw participation from its current investors Elevation Capital and RPSG Capital.

The startup will use the funding to expand into new categories and scale its offline operations. Speaking to Inc42, the startup’s cofounder and CEO Vedang Patel said that the startup will also deploy the capital to launch 100-200 physical stores across the country in the next three years. 

The investment will also be utilised to offer a complete buyback of vested Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs).

“…we plan to capitalise our high brand equity to grow current categories & foray into other lifestyle products. We are also expanding our offline presence & intend to create destination stores that would excite our customers. The Souled Store further aims to reach INR 1500 Cr in revenue over the next three years and then go public,” the CEO said.

Commenting on the announcement, the managing partner at Xponentia Capital PR Srinivasan said, “… We look forward to supporting Vedang & his team as The Souled Store continues to innovate and delight its customers.”

Patel also told Inc42 that The Souled Store was well on its way to closing the current financial year at INR 240 Cr and was currently reporting an EBITDA of 10%. He added that the lifestyle brand was well placed to achieve a revenue of INR 1,500 Cr in the next three years. 

Patel said that the startup plans to maintain an EBITDA of 20% at that scale and would then file for an initial public offering (IPO). 

Founded in 2013 by Patel, Rohin Samtaney, Aditya Sharma and Harsh Lal, The Souled Store started as a branded merchandise apparel brand and later morphed into its current D2C casual wear brand form. It also sells other products such as backpacks, sneakers, shoes and socks for customers ranging from kids to late adults. 

The startup last raised INR 75 Cr as part of its Series B funding round led by Elevation Capital.

It has raised a total of INR 220 Cr since its inception in 2013.

The D2C brand claims to be processing an annualised gross merchandise volume (GMV) of INR 450 Cr+. Besides, The Souled Store also claims to earn 70% of its revenue from its website and app, while it earns 15% from its offline stores. Ecommerce marketplaces account for just the remaining 15% of its total revenue. 

Home to more than 50,000 digital-first brands, India has seen the rapid rise of many D2C and omnichannel lifestyle brands which have percolated deeper across the country’s psyche across multiple segments and niches. The explosion of D2C brands has led to more and more investors eyeing the burgeoning space. 

As per Inc42 data, omnichannel and D2C startups raised $1.7 Bn in funding in 2022 and emerged as the most funded sub-sector within the larger ecommerce arena. 

Earlier this month, D2C lifestyle brand Zouk raised $3 Mn in a round led by Stellaris Venture Partners while another D2C brand The Ayurveda Co bagged INR 100 Cr. 

Inc42 estimates the homegrown D2C sector’s total addressable market opportunity to surge to the $300 Bn mark by 2030.