Purplle raises $45M in funding from Sequoia Capital & other investors

Purplle, an online store cosmetics store in India, has recently bagged $45 million in funding led by Sequoia Capital India and other existing investors namely JSW Ventures, Blume Ventures, and Verlinvest. The recent funding round was geared towards expanding its footprint in the world’s 2^nd largest internet market.

People with knowledge of the matter have reported that the online beauty store has secured $95 million in investment to date. The latest round values the company at nearly $300 million in total, a significant hike from $150 million in the 2019 Series C funding round. In addition, it will provide a partial exit to an investor namely IvyCap Ventures, which had invested over $2 million in the company in 2015.

Goldman Sachs-backed Purplle has reportedly sold over 50,000 products from nearly 1,000 brands as well as registered 7 million active users per month. The company’s significant growth demonstrates the growing e-Commerce sector in India, as consumers are rapidly shifting their preferences from offline to online purchases. Apart from Purplle, an Indian omnichannel direct-to-consumer brand, MyGlamm, also had raised $24.2 million in funding co-led by Amazon.

According to Manish Taneja, Purplle’s Chief Executive and Co-founder, the company has been witnessing robust growth over the past three years, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it had depicted >90% GMV CAGR. The recent investment round is expected to help shape the company into a digital-first, multibillion-dollar, beauty & personal care enterprise.

As per the statement made by Sequoia India’s Principal, Sakshi Chopra, the company is excited to collaborate with the online beauty brand, Purplle, which has retained value with 3 key tenets, i.e. a business built on high customer retention and low CAC (customer acquisition cost), a wide brand assortment of quality brands at best prices, and an attractive private-label portfolio. The company has also been emerging as a prominent beauty destination, with its online penetration likely to increase from 10% to more than 25% over the next decade.

Source credit:

https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/22/indian-beauty-e-commerce-purplle-raises-45-million/