Arun Sirdeshmukh receives funding from Helion, Lightspeed

Arun Sirdeshmukh, former CEO of Reliance Trends who

started his own fashion e-retail venture Fashionara, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Helion Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Sirdeshmukh had tied up with Darpan Munjal (former CTO of Times Internet) to launch his venture. Currently, Fashionara offers apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and kids.

The newly launched company will look for a fresh round of funding after 18-24 months. At present, the company has 36 employees and this figure is expected to grow to 50 by August 2012. Some of the key brands available on Fashionara include: Adidas, Reebok, Benetton, Sisley, Nautica, Guess, Lee, Wrangler, Vans, Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Arrow, Flying Machine, W, Fabindia, Levi’s Kids, Puma Kids, G&J, UCB Kids and Reebok Kids, among others.

Fashionara faces tough competition from other e-com sites in this segment, including Fashionandyou, and 99labels, as also from horizontal players and baby/kid-centric e-retailers like Babyoye and FirstCry. Meanwhile, Fashionara aims at partnering 100-odd brands and make the portal fundamentally strong by end of August. “We have tie-ups with as many as 50 brands right now but, only 20 are available on the site. But in a couple of weeks, Fashionara will add another 30,” said Sirdeshmukh. To attract consumers, Fashionara is offering a discount voucher valid till June 10, 2012 on shopping of more than Rs 1,000.