eShakti raises fresh funding

eShakti, the Chennai-based online women's apparel retailer that targets the US and Canada and operates an Indian e-commerce unit under Zapelle has raised fresh funding from two investors. The apparel retailer has raised Rs 9 crore through preferential allotment of shares. The funding round was led by Infina Finance and financial services provider Polaris Banyan Holding.

Founded in 1999 by BG Krishnan, eShakti began as a website offering basic cottons and embellished pieces. It now focuses on made-to-measure and made-by-design mainstream fashion clothing for women. It does not stock any sizes, and each style is cut to order. The firm’s design teams are based in New York, London and India. The clothing is made in India in its own factories and other local factories. Operationally, it is present in Delhi and Chennai, and its subsidiary has an office in New York and a customer service facility near Seattle.

The fashion e-commerce segment in India is dominated by Flipkart, which owns fashion e-tailers Myntra and Jabong. The fashion e-tailing market is likely to account for 35 per cent of total online spending in India by 2020 and become the largest category ahead of consumer electronics. Voonik, Yufta, StyleTag, Wooplr, Cloutloot and StalkBuyLove are among the fashion e-commerce startups that have received funding in the past six months. Voonik bought TrialKart, a mobile platform that provides a virtual dressing room experience, in August 2015.