Nykaa.com eyes funding worth Rs 50 crores

Multi-brand retailer Nykaa.com aims to woo funds worth Rs 50 crores from existing and new investors. Founded two years ago by former MD of Kotak Mahindra Capital Investment Banking, Falguni Nayar, the holding company, FSN E-Commerce Ventures has already bagged a funding boost of Rs 20 crores from Indian HNIs and NRIs. The company also plans to launch its private label this August.

The company runs on an inventory-led business model, where foreign direct investment is not allowed by the Indian government at the moment. With hybrid form of retailing emerging as the future of organised retail in India, Nykaa, which runs one physical store at the Delhi airport aims to add three more, over the next 18 months.

Nykaa would gradually turn into a marketplace offering women-centric fashion categories such as saris, fashion accessories and jewellery. Online retail is expected to be worth six billion dollars (over Rs 37,000 crores) this year, a 70 percent increase over 2014 sales of 3.5 billion dollars (over Rs 21,000 crores), according to Gartner research.