Flipkart to invest in fashion brand USPL

The Flipkart Group on Thursday announced a strategic investment in USPL, a premium youth-focussed fashion brand house, in order to enhance its fashion portfolio. Post deal, it will work with the USPL team to deepen product offerings on its platforms.

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For USPL, it is a Series F funding round, with participation from existing investor Accel Partners, said a company statement. Excluding this undisclosed round, USPL, which is backed by NB Ventures and Alteria Capital apart from Accel, has raised a total of $33.4 million.

Founded in 2015, USPL, which has been growing at 40-50 per cent YoY, has built a portfolio of premier youth-focussed fashion brands. Wrogn, its flagship brand, is one of the fastest growing men’s casual wear brands in India at scale and has been amongst the leading brands on Myntra over the last few years, the statement said. Imara (women’s ethnic wear), Ms Taken (women’s western wear), Single (men’s casual wear) and Wrogn Active (men’s athleisure) are its other brands.

Online and offline presence

USPL brands are present in over 750 offline retail outlets in more than 100 cities across India including 50 Wrogn and Imara exclusive brand stores, the release said. On the online front, products are primarily distributed through Flipkart and Myntra besides USPL’s own website.

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“The last few months have provided a great opportunity for us to consolidate our market leadership among homegrown brands catering to the youth and expand our market share,” said Anjana Reddy, founder and CEO, USPL. “Post pandemic, recovery has been great for us and we are at 80 per cent of pre-Covid sales. During the time when the world is moving towards omni-channel retailing, we can significantly strengthen our online strategy by working with Flipkart and Myntra, the two prominent players in the Indian online fashion space.”

Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group, said: “It is our constant endeavour to offer our customers a wide range of products that meet their sensibilities. USPL’s unique brands, backed by celebrity endorsements, have a strong appeal for the young fashion-driven Indian consumer. This investment will help USPL and the Flipkart Group find deeper synergies as we continue on our commitment to grow an ecosystem of partnerships that deliver value for consumers and brands.”