Sequoia-backed Craftsvilla receives Rs 17 Cr from Singapore-based parent entity

From being a marketplace for handicrafts, Craftsvilla has pivoted to become an ethnic clothing and jewellery store for people and is now striving to become the Fabindia of the Internet. After rejig in its DNA, the firm had received about Rs 30 crore from the Singapore-based parent entity till November 2018.

In yet another infusion, Supera Pte Ltd (parent entity of Craftsvilla) has invested Rs 17 crore in the Mumbai-based holding company since December last year. While it got Rs 10 crore in December, Rs 4 crore came in February this year.

A month later, Supera had put in another Rs 3 crore, reveals RoC filings recently filed by Craftsvilla. Though we don’t know where the proceeds would be deployed, the firm likely to ramp up its line of new clothing and accessories brands.

Since its pivot in late 2017, Craftsvilla had launched several in-house labels including Anuswara, Avanya, and Jharokha.

During its good days, Craftsvilla was inspired to become Etsy of Asia. However, it digressed from the original plot selling ethnic products. The company failed to captivate demand as well as supply sides.

In a country with countless cultures and a class of artisans that could actually benefit out of a platform that sells their products online at a fair price, the original idea of Craftsvilla could have gone a long way, if executed well.

Craftsvilla currently competes with like of Myntra, Limeroad, Voonik along with horizontal biggest - Amazon and Flipkart. Fab India and Biba are also competitors for the Manoj Gupta-led firm.

While Craftsvilla had raised about Rs 47 crore in the past 8 months from the parent entity, chances of making a significant dent seem dismal for the Sequoia Capital-backed company. Nevertheless, Craftsvilla’s attempt to establish itself as an apparel and accessories brand would be fascinating to observe.