The Souled Store, a lifestyle brand, has raised Rs 135 crore (~$16 million) in a funding round led by Xponentia Capital, along with the participation of Elevation Capital and RPSG Capital.
The company plans to use the latest funding to launch more than 100 stores across India in the next two years and expand into new categories. A buyback of 100% of vested employee options will also be made possible by the investment, which will benefit about 30 employees of the Souled Store.
The Souled Store has raised over $85 million and has an annualized revenue of more than 450 crores GMV.
The Souled Store began as a fan merchandise company, but roughly half of its sales today come from non-fan merchandise. Vedang Patel, Aditya Sharma, Rohin Samtaney, and Harsh Lal launched the company in 2013. Their app/website generates 70% of their revenue, 15% from offline stores, and 15% from online marketplaces. The new offline outlets are expected to strengthen the brand’s presence in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, where 60% of revenue comes from.
According to data platform Tracxn, as of May last year, the company had allocated 3.7% of its shares to its ESOP plan for an unrealized value of Rs 29.7 crore.
It presently has 12 stores across five cities, and in addition to fan merchandise apparel for the target group of 18–32-year-olds, it has already begun to offer sneakers and kidswear.
Commenting on the development, Vedang Patel, CEO, said, “Our design first thinking, high product quality, and deep understanding of the youth has helped us become a truly distinguished brand, and we plan to capitalize our high brand equity to grow current categories & foray into other lifestyle products. We are also expanding our offline presence & intend to create destination stores that would excite our customers. The Souled Store further aims to reach ₹1500 crore in revenue over the next three years and then go public.”
Adding to this, PR Srinivasan, Managing Partner, Xponentia Capital Partners, said, “Xponentia seeks to work with entrepreneurial teams that are setting new standards to disrupt their markets & create high growth business models. The Souled Store has established a distinctive brand and is in the process of creating a large community that identifies & relates with its casual wear products. We look forward to supporting Vedang & his team as The Souled Store continues to innovate and delight its customers.”
