TA Associates invests 140 million dollars in TCNS Clothing Company

TCNS Clothing Company has raised 140 million dollars (Rs 93.84 crores) from TA Associates, a US-based private equity firm. The city based company, which owns W, Aurelia and Wishful, has done this by selling a stake of around 40 per cent. This move led to the exit of Matrix Partners, which held a stake of 15-20 percent in the company. This investment by TA will provide some liquidity for other stakeholders, including management.

The domestic women’s apparel market will touch 20 billion dollars (Rs 13,408 crores) in 2020, which will be up 13 billion dollars (Rs 8,715.19 crores) in 2015, at a CAGR of 10 percent as per Avendus Capital. The branded part of the market, around 17 percent in 2015, is expected to exceed 38 percent over the next 10 years.

TCNS, which is run by 66-year-old Onkar Singh Pasricha, will now add 700 stores and triple its revenues in five years. Presently, the company operates 300 stores including some in markets such as Sri Lanka and Mauritius.

TA Associates raised 24 billion dollar (Rs 16,086.59 crores)in capital and has invested in around 460 companies around the world including homegrown mobile handset maker Micromax, pathology lab Dr Lal PathLabs and Idea Cellular. It exited from the latter in 2011.

As Naresh Patwari, director at TA Associates, points out the ‘women’s ethnic apparel market in India is largely unorganised and is undergoing a shift towards organised and branded. As a leader in branded women’s apparel, TCNS Clothing is driving this shift and providing the Indian consumer with a differentiated product and value proposition across its multiple apparel brand.