Flipkart today announced that its investing in Universal Sportsbiz Private Ltd (USPL), which owns youth fashion brands such as 'Wrogn' --- the brand made famous by Virat Kohli in India --- Ms.Taken and Single. The group has made this investment in a bid to "strengthen its fashion portfolio."
In a press statement, Flipkart said it will work closely with the USPL team to deepen product offerings on its platforms.
This is a Series F funding for USPL from the Flipkart Group along with participation from existing investor Accel Partners. "This investment will significantly step-up the online strategy of USPL by strengthening the existing long-standing engagement between USPL and Flipkart Group," the press statement added.
Flipkart focuses on fashion
Online fashion has seen one of the strongest growth among various categories in festive sales for Flipkart.
This is Flipkart’s third major investment in fashion retailer this year. Flipkart invested Rs 1500 crore in offline retailer Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd for a 7.8% stake. Earlier, it had invested Rs 260 crore Arvind Youth Brands.
Speaking on this development Ms. Anjana Reddy, Founder & CEO, USPL, said, “ Post pandemic recovery has been great for us and we are at 80% of pre-COVID sales. During the time when the world is moving towards omni-channel retailing, we can significantly strengthen our online strategy by working with Flipkart and Myntra, the two prominent players in the Indian online fashion space.”
Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group, said, “USPL’s unique brands, backed by celebrity endorsements, have a strong appeal for the young fashion-driven Indian consumer. This investment will help USPL and the Flipkart Group find deeper synergies as we continue on our commitment to grow an ecosystem of partnerships that deliver value for consumers and brands.”
Mahendran Balachandran, Partner, Accel India said "Our faith in USPL has been validated with this new investment. This transaction reflects strong synergy potential between USPL and Flipkart Group.”
USPL uses celebrity endorsements
Founded in 2015, USPL has built a portfolio of premier youth-focused fashion brands that uniquely cater to the sensibilities, design and fitment needs for the young Indian. 'Wrogn', USPL’s flagship brand, is one of the fastest growing men’s casual wear brands in India at scale and has been amongst the leading brands on Myntra over the last few years. USPL brands are also present in 750+ offline retail outlets in 100+ cities across India. USPL has been growing at 40-50% YoY.
USPL uses celebrity endorsements that fit brand characteristics.
Source: Flipkart
