Footwear brand Inc. 5 Shoes has raised its maiden institutional funding of $10 million in a Series-A round.
The round was led by Carpediem Capital and saw participation from public market investor Param Capital and P3 Venture Fund (Sureka Family Office). Dexter Capital Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor for the transaction. ICUL and Antares were the legal advisors to Inc. 5 and Carpediem, respectively.
Founded in 1998, it has over 70 exclusive outlets and more than 200 shop-in-shop touchpoints across the country. Amin Virji, Managing Director, Inc. 5 Shoes, said, “As we celebrate 25 years at Inc. 5, we are particularly excited as this year gives us more than one reason to celebrate. During our 25th year, we also aim to cross our first 100-store mark.”
The brand plans to scale its presence in urban areas, targeting tier-2 and select tier-3 cities. It will deploy funding towards store expansion, amplifying its online presence, strengthening senior leadership, and building backend capacities like inventory management technology.
“We would like to congratulate the founders and management team for building a prominent domestic footwear brand. Inc. 5 retails quality and affordable footwear for Indian women, an evolving demographic given their increasing participation in the workforce. We are excited to be a part of the next stage of Inc. 5’s growth journey,” said Abhishek Sharman (founder of Carpediem Capital) and Saranya Agrawal (Param Capital) in a joint statement.