PremiumNEW DELHI: Women's direct-to-consumer footwear brand Monrow has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from venture capital fund 9Unicorns.
In November, the startup had raised a pre-Series A investment from early-stage investors such as Venture Catalysts, Blume Ventures, LetsVenture, and other super angels - Aprameya Radhakrishna (Founder of Taxiforsure and Koo app), Sweta Rau, Archana Priyadarshini, and Ravi Soni.
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Monrow has received a total of Rs5 crore in funding so far.
"At a time when most emerging ventures were thinking greatly before taking the next step forward in an uncertain environment, we have doubled down and accelerated our growth. We posted double-digit growth during the pandemic. Our funding speaks volumes about our ability to bounce back faster than most of the other brands in the space to register strong post-pandemic recovery," said Veena Ashiya, Founder, Monrow.
The company’s gross revenue run rate is around Rs9 crore, Ashiya added.
The funds will be used for expansion in India's tier 2 and 3 towns through its omni-channel approach. While Monrow's primary focus is to grow its online customer base through its mobile site and lifestyle-focused e-commerce portals like Myntra and AJIO, it also plans to open more brick-and-mortar stores this year.
Monrow currently sells its products across 14 locations in India through partnerships with retailers, including Shoppers Stop, Future Group, and Reliance. The brand claims to have reinvented the footwear experience of Gen-Z and Millennials who thrive in comfort zones.
The startup also plans to use part of the funding to build a digital experience by focusing on creativity and innovation in the Web space expansion and virtual reality as a tool for achieving the highest accuracy rate.
The company said it is out to make shoes more comfortable by striking a delicate balance between fashion and comfort. About 90% of existing women's footwear brands in India leverage European/American shape and fitting, making them unfit and uncomfortable for the Indian lifestyle, Ashiya said.
"Being a first-of-a-kind digital footwear seller in the Indian shoe market, along with its focus on delivering unique value to the highly aspirational and comfort-loving millennial generation, gives a competitive advantage to the brand over its retail-focused peers.. Monrow has successfully captured the mobile-first generation's imagination by reaching out to its audience using quirky content and a full range of product offerings," said Rajesh Mane, Principal, 9Unicorns.
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