Voylla raises $15 million from Peepul Capital

New Delhi: Jaipur-based Voylla Retail Pvt. Ltd, which owns and operates fashion jewellery and accessories e-tailer Voylla.com, has raised $15 million in fresh funds from private equity firm Peepul Capital, a top company executive said on Monday.

“We will use the fund in enhancing our technology, brand building and offline expansion,” said Vishwas Shringi, founder and chief executive of Voylla.

Founded in 2012, the company had raised close to ₹ 13 crore before the current round from Pune-based Snow Leopard Technology Ventures and undisclosed angel investors.

Voylla is integrated with over 30 online marketplaces—25 in India, including Flipkart and Snapdeal—and the rest in the US, the UK and Middle East. It also has three shop-in-shop stores in India in partnership with Future Group’s Central Mall while its manufacturing unit is set up in Jaipur.

The company plans to expand its physical store network to 100 outlets. It will set up 40 exclusive stores across the country while the rest would consist of shop-in-shop and franchise outlets. The shops would be set up in high streets and malls, and the first one will be in West Delhi’s Rajouri Garden in a month. According to the company, these outlets will be integrated with the online store.

In the last couple of years, many e-tailers, including fashion e-commerce portal FabAlley, online furniture marketplace Pepperfry and eyewear portal Lenskart have launched offline stores where the customers can touch and feel the product. For buying, they have to get on to the company’s portal.

“Even in the US, not more than 30% of the business is online, 70% is still offline. So to talk about India, there is no way we will reach more than 15% in the next five years. The large part of it is still going to be offline and it makes complete sense to go offline and capture a large piece of the offline market,” said Shringi.

“With its manufacturing capability, ecosystem relationships and technology expertise, Voylla is uniquely positioned to create a valuable business and life-style brand over the coming quarters and years,” said Surya Mantha, investment director, Peepul Capital. Mantha will join the board of the company.