Ahead of JioMart’s foray into fashion, RIL infuses Rs 20 Cr in Fynd

Fashion e-commerce platform Fynd has received an investment of Rs 20 crore from its holding entity, Reliance Investment Holdings. This is the second tranche infused by Reliance in the Mumbai-based company in the past 12 months.

Fynd has allotted 865,800 equity shares at an issue price of Rs 231 per share to RIL to raise the total consideration, reveals regulatory filings. The infusion seems to be a part of RIL's effort to beef up fashion and accessories verticals of JioMart. 

According to Entrackr sources, JioMart is likely to go live with fashion, electronics and pharmacy verticals before the festive season (Oct-Nov). The e-commerce arm of the group became the largest e-grocer in the country within three months of the launch.

In September last year, Fynd secured Rs 50 crore from Mukesh Ambani-led firm. 

Fynd, which was launched in 2012 as ShopSense by Harsh Shah, Farooq Adam and Sreeraman MG, enables brands and retailers to sell by engaging shoppers in stores. Three years later, it pivoted to online-to-offline commerce in November 2015 and rechristened itself as Fynd. 

Fintrackr’s calculation estimates that Reliance has valued close to Rs 425 crore (post-money). This is a 44% jump in valuation as compared to its market cap at the time of acquisition. Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd had acquired an 87.6% stake in Fynd for Rs 295 crore. 

At present, it powers close to 8,500 brand stores including Steve Madden, Diesel, Michael Kors, Super Dr across the country with visibility on real-time inventory. Before the acquisition, Fynd raised Rs 100 crore from a list of 50 investors including Google, IIFL, Kae Capital, Patni et al.

Apart from helping brands with additional e-commerce channels, Fynd’s inventory integrations enable brands to get real-time exposure among its user base. The company also claims to drive sales of offline stores by 5-6%.