The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group-backed pop-culture merchandising start-up The Souled Store is eyeing fund-raising to the tune of ₹75-100 crore, as it looks at a second phase of expansion and scale-up of operations.

The funds will be used primarily towards reworking the supply chain, new marketing initiatives that include celebrity endorsements, and ramping up of omni-channel presence.

The Souled Store, which began operations in 2013, sells officially licensed products from global entities such as Warner Bros, Disney, WWE, Marvel and a host of Indian brands that include stand-up comedians, Indi-pop artists, music festivals and franchises from sporting events like Indian Premier League and Pro Kabaddi League.

In November 2018, venture capital firm RP-SG Ventures Ltd invested ₹21 crore ($3 million) in The Souled Store. It remains the only investor in the start-up.

According to Vedang Patel, co-founder, The Souled Store wants “to continue growing its turnover” as it hits the ₹100-crore mark by the end of this fiscal.

Moreover, consumer sentiments are improving, with demand for e-commerce and digital-first doing well in recent times.

“We are looking at a new round of fundraising, say to the tune of ₹75-100 crore. Scale-up in operations will happen. A prime focus will also be on marketing. This apart, we need to rework the supply chains and improve warehousing in order to further speed up deliveries. Our target is ₹1,000 crore over the next four years,” he told BusinessLine .

One round of rejig in warehousing and supply chain operations has already been carried out, which saw the company speed up on deliveries.

Improving monthly sales

April was a washout, but the company has seen monthly sales improve from June onwards. From ₹5 crore in June, monthly turnover stood at over ₹9 crore in December. Sales momentum is expected to sustain with improving demand from tier-II and III cities.

Orders are back to pre-Covid levels of approximately 100,000 a month, while the average order size has increased to ₹1,200 (per order) as against the earlier ₹800, said Patel.

“Month-on-month sales are up and there is a near 80 per cent repeat purchase for certain categories of sub-offerings, like a single colour T-shirt or lounge wear,” he added.

Brick-and-mortal stores

Patel further said The Souled Store will re-focus on offline store expansion.

The original plan was to add 40 stores, primarily across tier-I and II cities including NCR, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai. However, the pandemic forced the company to put such plans on hold for the time being.

“We have three stores at the moment. There are some deals with malls that we discussed but did not sign because of the lockdown and the pandemic. We will revisit them now,” Patel said.

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