Snapdeal eyes another funding boost for growth

Leading e-marketplace Snapdeal, which raised funds from Japan’s SoftBank, plans to raise more funds to aggressively pursue its growth plans. Sources say that the e-retailer is aiming for a funding boost of around 400 million dollars (Rs 2,500 crores) at a valuation of 5 billion dollars (above Rs 31,000 crores).

Industry sources have speculated that after its last funding round of 627 million dollars (over Rs 3,800 crores) in Snapdeal, Japan’s SoftBank Group is looking at increasing its stake in the company to more than 38 percent from the current 33 percent. Sources claim Independent Director on the board Akhil Kumar Gupta, a senior executive at Bharti Enterprises, has also picked up a small personal stake in the online marketplace.

Snapdeal, which has so far raised around 1.5 billion dollars (over Rs 9,200 crores) from investors so far, is looking at raising more funds to invest in improving infrastructure, product offerings and improve staff strength. With its ‘bachate raho (keep saving)’ tagline and focus on unbranded products sold by small manufacturers and retailers, Snapdeal has established itself as a mass-retailer, with over half of these 50,000 merchants selling fashion and lifestyle products that account for 60 percent of its orders. The plan now is to focus on the branded and premium fashion segment.