Fashionandyou plans to raise funds to expand business

Smile Group-backed flash fashion portal Fashionandyou plans to raise around 50 million dollars (over Rs 300 crores) to take advantage of the demand prevailing in high margin fashion business. Though the company was not able to make the most of an opportunity, when there were no competitors in the fashion space, it now aims to try hard to take on its rivals like Myntra and Jabong.

Fashionandyou, considered being the biggest e-commerce venture under the Smile Group had earlier got a funding boost of around 45 million dollars (over Rs 275 crores) from Sequoia Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Nokia Growth Partners and Intel Capital during 2010/11, appearing it to be the most funded player among its peers at that time. However, Myntra and Jabong, later got more funds to move much ahead in the competition.

Fashionandyou recently changed the look of its website by introducing new functionalities. After raising 10 million dollars (over Rs 60 crores) from its existing investors;Sequoia Capital, Smile Group, Norwest Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Nokia Growth Partners, the company plans to invest in technologically upgrading its e-platform.

There are several steps the company has planned to reach its target consumers in a robust manner. Though the overall product-category mix will remain the same with 16 main categories and 34 sub-categories, the focus would be on expanding its merchandise making international brands, a part of its portfolio. To achieve this, the company will create sourcing hubs in US/Europe and China after identifying key alliances in these regions.