Latest news with #PrashanthAluru
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Aditya Birla firm for young fashion TMRW raises ₹437 cr for tech boost
Aditya Birla Group's house of brands venture TMRW has raised external capital of ₹ 437 crore from ServiceNow Ventures, the investment arm of artificial intelligence and automation software provider ServiceNow, to strengthen its tech platform. The funding is expected to help the fashion retailer improve its customer experience across channels. Launched in 2022, TMRW's portfolio includes Bewakoof, Virat Kohli's Wrogn, The Indian Garage Co. and Nobero, that cater to millennial and Gen Z audiences. In a statement on Wednesday, the firm said it is looking to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve consumer insight as well as brand differentiation. 'ServiceNow's agentic AI capabilities will augment our playbook for value creation, enabling us to leapfrog traditional fashion-industry value drivers and deliver next-gen consumer experiences to millions of consumers,' Prashanth Aluru, co-founder and chief executive of TMRW, said. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL)'s losses in the June quarter widened to ₹ 233.7 crore from ₹ 214.9 crore a year ago. Its revenue from operations grew marginally to ₹ 1,831.4 crore during the quarter. TMRW's topline grew nearly 38% to ₹ 197 crore in the quarter, helped by higher margins in the segment along with e-commerce sales growing by 28%. The firm expanded its offline presence to reach 25 stores across 9 cities in April-June. However, the segment remained in the red with an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) loss of ₹ 63 crore, against a loss of ₹ 46 crore last year. ABFRL had earlier said it will spend as much as ₹ 500 crore in FY26 to revive its loss-making businesses, including TCNS Clothing and TMRW Brands. 'For the next 12 months, leveraging its strong caseloads, ABLBL (Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Ltd) is set to embark on a historic expansion, with an aggressive retail rollout across its brand portfolios, heading over net 300 stores across the country to accelerate growth and deepen market presence,' Jagdish Bajaj, chief financial officer (CFO) of ABFRL, had told investors in May. In January, the company raised $500 million (~ ₹ 4,300 crore) through a combination of preferential issuance and qualified institutional placement (QIP) of equity shares from the promoter group and Fidelity Investments. This was aimed at achieving 'aggressive growth across its multiple high-growth platforms,' according to the company. 'Our industry scenario during the quarter continues to see strong macro-admin with sustained impact on consumer discretionary consumption,' the CFO had said. In May, the company completed the demerger of ABLBL as a separate entity. ABLBL operates brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Peter England and Simon Carter.
Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Aditya Birla firm for young fashion TMRW raises ₹437 cr for tech boost
Aditya Birla Group's house of brands venture TMRW has raised external capital of ₹ 437 crore from ServiceNow Ventures, the investment arm of artificial intelligence and automation software provider ServiceNow, to strengthen its tech platform. The funding is expected to help the fashion retailer improve its customer experience across channels. Launched in 2022, TMRW's portfolio includes Bewakoof, Virat Kohli's Wrogn, The Indian Garage Co. and Nobero, that cater to millennial and Gen Z audiences. In a statement on Wednesday, the firm said it is looking to use artificial intelligence (AI) to improve consumer insight as well as brand differentiation. 'ServiceNow's agentic AI capabilities will augment our playbook for value creation, enabling us to leapfrog traditional fashion-industry value drivers and deliver next-gen consumer experiences to millions of consumers,' Prashanth Aluru, co-founder and chief executive of TMRW, said. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL)'s losses in the June quarter widened to ₹ 233.7 crore from ₹ 214.9 crore a year ago. Its revenue from operations grew marginally to ₹ 1,831.4 crore during the quarter. TMRW's topline grew nearly 38% to ₹ 197 crore in the quarter, helped by higher margins in the segment along with e-commerce sales growing by 28%. The firm expanded its offline presence to reach 25 stores across 9 cities in April-June. However, the segment remained in the red with an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) loss of ₹ 63 crore, against a loss of ₹ 46 crore last year. ABFRL had earlier said it will spend as much as ₹ 500 crore in FY26 to revive its loss-making businesses, including TCNS Clothing and TMRW Brands. 'For the next 12 months, leveraging its strong caseloads, ABLBL (Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Ltd) is set to embark on a historic expansion, with an aggressive retail rollout across its brand portfolios, heading over net 300 stores across the country to accelerate growth and deepen market presence,' Jagdish Bajaj, chief financial officer (CFO) of ABFRL, had told investors in May. In January, the company raised $500 million (~ ₹ 4,300 crore) through a combination of preferential issuance and qualified institutional placement (QIP) of equity shares from the promoter group and Fidelity Investments. This was aimed at achieving 'aggressive growth across its multiple high-growth platforms,' according to the company. 'Our industry scenario during the quarter continues to see strong macro-admin with sustained impact on consumer discretionary consumption,' the CFO had said.
