Richfeel looks at raising USD 10-mn via private equity route

Hair clinic chain Richfeel Health & Beauty is exploring another round of fund raising to the tune of around USD 10 million in the near term and later opt for an initial public offer after three years, a top company official said today.
"We are exploring another round of fund raising to the tune of USD 10 million in the near term through the private equity route and subsequently opt for an initial public offer after three years to fund our expansion plans.
"Proceeds from the fund raised would be deployed to expand the clinic chain on a pan-India basis," Richfeel founder Apoorva Shah told PTI here.

"Currently we operate 61 clinics all over India, and expect to launch 20 more clinics in the current financial year. We also plan to start a new concept of mini-clinics which will be targeted at Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns.
"We expect to have 300 clinics in the next four years' time all over India. Growth will be led by a combination of our own clinics as well as franchisee clinics," Shah said.
Currently, the hair clinic has Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL) as well as Fulcrum Ventures as investors in the company.

With over 54 clinics across India, Richfeel Trichology has become the largest trichology chain in the world.

"We have been growing at the rate of 25 to 30 per cent year on year for the past five years. We expect to continue this momentum even on a higher revenue base for the next five years.
"We also have a personal care division through which we supply to salons and will soon be available in modern trade. This division is expected to contribute significantly to the future growth of the company," he said.
"Five years from now, we expect to have a topline of over Rs 300 crore and still continue to grow at a growth rate of over 25 per cent. We would expect our personal care division to contribute around 50 per cent of our turnover by the end of the fifth year from now," Shah said, commenting on the company's outlook.