Zivame raises Rs 250 cr; to set up 100 fitting stores in 3yrs

Online lingerie retailer Zivame today said it has raised Rs 250 crore from Zodius Technology Fund, Khazanah Nasional Berhad and other existing investors.
The Series C round also saw participation from existing investors Unilazer, IDG Ventures and Kalaari Capital. Founded in late 2011, Zivame has so far raised about USD 8 million in series A and B funding.
"The funds will be used to raise awareness about the category and company, ramping up the technology platform, enhancing consumer experience on mobile phones as well as setting up fitting stores across the country," Zivame founder and CEO Richa Kar told PTI.

It (the funds) will help the company strengthen its dominant position in the online lingerie category, which is a USD 1 billion category, she added.
"We want to play a major role in educating women across the country about intimate wear and making good lingerie accessible and affordable to all. This is where the fitting stores come in. This year, we will start with Bengaluru and move to other top cities," Kar said.
She further said in the next 2-3 years, Zivame will have 100 such stores across top 10 cities, where women can come in to get fitted and know their body types to make informed purchasing decisions.

Talking about the company's mobile strategy, Kar said the company has recently launched its mobile app.

"About 55 per cent of our purchases are coming from mobile phones. We understand that mobile phones are a good medium to check out products and purchase as this is a more private device and therefore, we have launched an app," she said.
However, the product category is such that visual appeal is important and Zivame will exist across platforms, including desktops, Kar said.
Zivame gets about 60 per cent of its revenue from in-house products and to strengthen this, it has also set up a data sciences lab.

"We want to empower women to shop their most intimate wear. The fact that reputed investors like Zodius and Khazanah have invested in us, highlights the robustness of our vision, business model and execution capability," she said.