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Assisted e-commerce platform for small shopkeepers ShopX plans to raise $20 million from PE funds to upgrade technology and enter new markets in North and East India with a target to reach 10 lakh retailers in the next three years.
With a single strategic investor, Nandan Nilekeni, who has already made a seed round funding of $10 million, the Bengaluru-based start-up expects to offload at least 20 per cent stake to PE funds.
“We already have Nandan Nilekeni as an investor on board with a more than 10 per cent stake in Shop X and now we will be directly raising money from PE funds to raise another $20 million by giving a 20 per cent stake this year. The funds would be used to grow geographically and develop new technology,’’ said Amit Sharma, CEO, ShopX.
Reaching out its app across 45,000 small retailers ranging from pan shops to telecom outlets, ShopX enables sale of products across categories like FMCG, electronics and lifestyle and makes money by getting a commission of up to 20 per cent based on the sales made through the companies registered on its app.
Target audienceIts target audience is the 400-million middle class earning between ₹12,000 and 40,000 a month.
“We help the small shopkeepers add more categories by selling products from any company in these three broad categories since they may lack space at their stores which typically measure about 200 sq ft,’’ explains Sharma.
Catering to middle class consumers living in smaller towns who are not comfortable doing e-commerce yet aspire to buy new age brands and products, Shop X helps small shopkeepers stock the necessary products based on demand in a particular market through its app developed for them.
“Today, we reach out to 230 towns in South and West India, reaching about 10 lakh consumers through the 45,000 retailers who have our app. But the target is to reach 10 lakh retailers and 10 crore consumers in the next three years,’’ he added.
Started in 2015, ShopX currently has a GMV (gross merchandise value) of ₹20 crore and claims to have net margin profitability since it does not believe in giving deep discounts. Besides, it has also stayed away from having a hyper local model which entails high cost of deliveries.
ShopX has been building its team and has recently hired from big e-commerce firms like Amazon.in for its project management functions.
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