TVS Capital invests Rs 25 crore in e-commerce site Nykaa

Narayan Ramachandran to represent TVS Capital on the board of Nykaa

TVS Capital has made its first investment in the e-commerce space by picking up a minority stake in FSN Ecommerce Ventures for Rs 25 crore.

FSN Ecommerce Ventures operates an online platform for beauty and wellness products under the brand 'Nykaa'. It is promoted by Falguni Nayar, who till recently was the managing director (Investment Banking) at Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Narayan Ramachandran, who is a member of the fund advisory board, will represent TVS Capital on the board of Nykaa.

Gopal Srinivasan, chairman and managing director, TVS Capital said that while this is the first time the company is investing in an e-commerce venture, it has studied several opportunities in this space.

The e-commerce space has grown tremendously in the last few years (5x in value terms). 

Nykaa's model can become omni-channel and it is visited by customers outside of large players like Amazon and Flipkart, which is a plus, said Srinivasan.

Nykaa says it has crossed over 35,000 orders a month and has a monthly gross merchandise value (GMV) run rate of over Rs 5 crore. Srinivasan said it expects the company to reach a monthly GMV run rate of over Rs 20 crore in the next two years.

Incorporated in 2012, FSN offers a comprehensive selection of makeup, skincare, hair care, fragrances, bath and body, luxury and wellness products.

TVS Capital, led by Srinivasan of the TVS Group, manages TVS Shriram Growth Fund which has over Rs 1,100 crore assets under management (AUM) across two schemes (1A&1B). The fund invests in companies in retail, healthcare, education, food and agriculture, FMCG and others. The company has completely deployed Fund 1A investments and has commenced investments in Fund 1B.