Cbazaar eyes second round of funding to drive expansion

Cbazaar run by Net Avenue Technologies plans

to go for second round of funding in the next few months. It’s looking at the funds to push its expansion plans. Cbazaar is also targeting revenues of 100 million dollars (over Rs 500 crores) by 2015-16 and hopes to break even by next fiscal, while pushing its penetration in existing markets, especially the US and India, apart from entering into ethnic accessories segment.

Cbazaar had earlier raised 3.5 million dollars from Ojas Venture Partners and Inventus Capital Partners, which was invested in technology, infrastructure upgradation and brand-building activities. Started in 2005 by Rajesh Nahar and Rajesh Katariya, Cbazaar sells a range of Indian ethnic wear to overseas customers, predominantly the non-resident Indian community, and South Asians spread across 120 countries.

The duo started the business in 1998 with seed capital of Rs 12 lakh, launching Chennaibazaar.com and tried their luck at online selling. Though it was not a success in India, since e-commerce was yet to take off, they looked towards overseas as Indians as they had adapted e-commerce and were ready to transact online. In 2011, it forayed into the domestic market to tap the potential ethnic apparel and accessories space among affluent Indians. The portal boasts of a portfolio of 16,000 products comprising women’s and menswear, kids’ clothing, adding about 150 new designs every day.