Hybrid beauty platform MyGlamm acquires POPxo

The Covid-19 pandemic has set the stage for consolidation across Indian startups. While consolidation in the edtech space was driven on merit, deals in other segments were majorly depicting stress with the larger players often bailing out the smaller firms.

After Trebil’s acquisition by Spinny, beauty brand MyGlamm has acquired women-centric community platform POPxo for an undisclosed amount. Following the transaction, Priyanka Gill, founder & CEO of POPxo, will join MyGlamm as co-founder. 

The Gurugram-based company will continue to create engaging content across all platforms for women in India along with its influencer marketing platform Plixxo. POPXo’s investors Chiratae Ventures, Kalaari Capital and Neoplux Venture Capital will have stakes in MyGlamm. 

While the details of the transaction are undisclosed, it looks like more of a merger than acquisition. In its six-year-old journey, POPxo has raised around $12 million from its investors. At present, it claims 43 million MAUs with 3 million hours of consumption every month.

MyGlamm, which launched its products in October 2017, has over 2000 points of sale across 50 cities in India. Till date, MyGlamm has raised around $28 million in risk capital from Bessemer Venture Partners, L'Occitane, Mankekar Family Office and Tano Capital LLC.

While both entities are yet to file their financial results for FY20, POPXo’s expenses shot up by 61% from Rs 20.2 crore in FY18 to Rs 32.5 crore during FY19, according to the company’s regulatory filing.

Operating revenue for POPXo did grow by 51% to Rs 12.08 crore in FY19 but couldn't offset the losses which grew by 59% to Rs 19.08 crore in FY19 crore from Rs 12.24 crore in FY18. Its net operating cash flow stood at -Rs 20.12 crore for the fiscal ended in March 2019.

According to regulatory filings, MyGlamm secured a hybrid debt-equity round worth Rs 45.5 crore led by Lóccitane and Trifecta Debt capital a fortnight ago. The French cosmetic brand and Bessemer picked up preference shares worth Rs 12.5 crore and Rs 10 respectively whereas Trifecta acquired debentures worth Rs 20 crore. 

As per Fintackr estimates, MyGlamm was valued north of Rs 562 crore following this funding round. The lifestyle e-commerce platform had generated revenues of Rs 13.7 crore during FY19 on a loss of Rs 33.2 crore during the same period. Financially, the company seems to be in a strong position with a claim of Rs 140 crore of annualised revenue and growth of 400% in the past 12 months. The firm is projecting to grow to an annualised revenue of Rs 400 crore by December 2021.