Shopclues hires Deepak Sharma as new CFO as it prepares for IPO

Shopclues, an e-commerce marketplace that is focused on winning markets in tier-II and tier-III cities, is preparing for an Initial Public Offer (IPO) of equity. And, has appointed former V-Mart Retail executive Deepak Sharma as chief financial officer (CFO).

Sharma was CFO of V-Mart and led the company through its IPO in 2013. A chartered accountant, he has 24 years of experience, having worked with Punj Lloyd and Mitsui & Co.

"He will bring greater velocity in achieving bottom line profitability and prepare the organisation for a successful IPO," said Sanjay Sethi, chief executive of Shopclues.

At the start of the year, Shopclues had said it was pushing back its plan for an IPO in 2018, due to the detrimental effect of demonetisation (from early November) on its business. Now, the IPO plan seems to have returned, despite the founders being engaged in a dispute among themselves.

Shopclues became a unicorn (jargon for an unlisted company valued at $1 billion or more) when it raised $100 million, in a round led by Tiger Global, last January. The company has raised a little over $200 mn so far; most recently, it raised $7.7 mn in venture debt from InnoVen Capital in May.

For the year ending March 2016, Shopclues had reported a loss of Rs 381 crore on revenue of Rs 179 crore.

The market for IPOs in India is currently on a high. Supermarket chain D-Mart enjoyed a blockbuster listing, while the country also saw its first product company, Tejas Networks, getting listed on the bourses. So far, 23 firms have listed with the markets regulator in 2017 for doing so.