Latest news with #SiddharthDungarwal
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Rapid Delivery's in Fashion at Ecomm, New-age Apparel Cos
HighlightsNew direct-to-consumer brand Snitch has launched a pilot project for its quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru, joining other brands like Newme, Slikk, and ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio, and Nykaa in exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. Slikk, which offers delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million in funding led by Nexus Venture Partners, while Snitch has secured $40 million from 360 One Asset to expand its offline retail presence and enter the quick commerce segment. Industry experts caution that the rush towards rapid fashion delivery may be an overhyped extension of the quick commerce trend, noting that the supply chain for fashion is significantly more complex than that of grocery delivery. New-age brands like Newme, Slikk and Blipp, as well as ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio and Nykaa are all exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch. Its founder Siddharth Dungarwal told ET that the company has launched a pilot project for its own quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru last week. Seeing the rush, venture capitalists are betting on the segment. Slikk, which promises delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch has raised as much as $40 million from 360 One Asset, with the proceeds to be used for expanding its offline retail presence to more than 100 stores by the end of 2025 and entering quick commerce. Some industry insiders believe this may be another overhyped extension of the quick commerce narrative. The model is new and comes with its own set of challenges. The push towards rapid delivery began with quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit expanding the categories of products they deliver. These platforms, which were initially focusing on grocery delivery, partnered with brands like Jockey, Manyavar, Puma and Adidas to offer apparel and accessories, although limited to essentials such as innerwear, socks, gym wear, basic tees and track pants. This opened up a gap for fashion-first players to offer broader selections with quick fulfilment. "Fashion is an experiential category. The supply chain required for fashion and lifestyle is far more complex than grocery," said Akshay Gulati, cofounder and chief executive of Slikk.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Rapid fashion delivery gathers pace, but long-term viability in question
New-age brands like Newme , Slikk and Blipp, as well as ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio and Nykaa are all exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch. Its founder Siddharth Dungarwal told ET that the company has launched a pilot project for its own quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru last week. Seeing the rush, venture capitalists are betting on the segment. Slikk, which promises delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch has raised as much as $40 million from 360 One Asset, with the proceeds to be used for expanding its offline retail presence to more than 100 stores by the end of 2025 and entering quick commerce . Some industry insiders believe this may be another overhyped extension of the quick commerce narrative. The model is new and comes with its own set of challenges. The push towards rapid delivery began with quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit expanding the categories of products they deliver. These platforms, which were initially focusing on grocery delivery, partnered with brands like Jockey, Manyavar, Puma and Adidas to offer apparel and accessories, although limited to essentials such as innerwear, socks, gym wear, basic tees and track pants. This opened up a gap for fashion-first players to offer broader selections with quick fulfilment. 'Fashion is an experiential category. The supply chain required for fashion and lifestyle is far more complex than grocery,' said Akshay Gulati, cofounder and chief executive of Slikk. 'I'm not sure how a grocery-first platform can scale and solve for this category in depth.' Predicting demand in real time Keeping up with ever-changing fashion preferences is another major hurdle. Brands say accurately forecasting demand — sometimes before customers themselves know what they want — is critical. Many startups are leaning on proprietary AI models and data science teams to stay ahead. These tools help analyse social media chatter, search trends and buying patterns to identify what is likely to trend next. Newme, for instance, has built a dedicated data science team that uses these insights to drive design and inventory decisions, cofounder Sumit Jasoria told ET. Cautionary signs Despite the buzz, challenges persist. One of them is customer behaviour. While there's early interest in fast delivery, shoppers tend to play it safe. Dungarwal said although customers initially showed enthusiasm when Snitch joined platforms like Myntra's M-Now, Slikk and Knot, many reverted to buying only wardrobe basics such as black t-shirts or shirts via these services. 'We've done multiple polls with consumers. Most of them said they don't buy clothes last-minute unless they have a sudden plan or urgent need,' he said. Another issue is forecasting fashion demand at a hyperlocal level. 'If a brand misjudges demand at the pin code level, it will be stuck with unsold inventory,' said a Bengaluru-based industry expert. 'Liquidating it will mean additional cost.' Returns are another pain point. Sizing, fit and comfort issues lead to high return rates in fashion, and rapid delivery doesn't solve for that. 'These platforms are burning money to process returns, which can go as high as 35-40%,' the expert added. The rapid fashion model is still in its early days. While there's excitement around it, the real test will be how brands manage inventory, reduce returns and drive consistent demand without compromising margins, say industry experts.
Time of India
19 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Quick fashion delivery gathers pace, but road ahead seems challenging
New-age brands like Newme , Slikk and Blipp, as well as ecommerce platforms such as Myntra, Ajio and Nykaa are all exploring ultra-fast delivery for fashion and apparel. The latest to join the race is Bengaluru-based D2C brand Snitch. Its founder Siddharth Dungarwal told ET that the company has launched a pilot project for its own quick fashion delivery service in Bengaluru last week. Seeing the rush, venture capitalists are betting on the segment. Slikk, which promises delivery within 60 minutes, recently raised $10 million (about Rs 85 crore) in a round led by Nexus Venture Partners. Snitch has raised as much as $40 million from 360 One Asset, with the proceeds to be used for expanding its offline retail presence to more than 100 stores by the end of 2025 and entering quick commerce . Some industry insiders believe this may be another overhyped extension of the quick commerce narrative. The model is new and comes with its own set of challenges. The push towards rapid delivery began with quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Swiggy Instamart and Blinkit expanding the categories of products they deliver. These platforms, which were initially focusing on grocery delivery, partnered with brands like Jockey, Manyavar, Puma and Adidas to offer apparel and accessories, although limited to essentials such as innerwear, socks, gym wear, basic tees and track pants. This opened up a gap for fashion-first players to offer broader selections with quick fulfilment. 'Fashion is an experiential category. The supply chain required for fashion and lifestyle is far more complex than grocery,' said Akshay Gulati, cofounder and chief executive of Slikk. 'I'm not sure how a grocery-first platform can scale and solve for this category in depth.' Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Predicting demand in real time Keeping up with ever-changing fashion preferences is another major hurdle. Brands say accurately forecasting demand — sometimes before customers themselves know what they want — is critical. Many startups are leaning on proprietary AI models and data science teams to stay ahead. These tools help analyse social media chatter, search trends and buying patterns to identify what is likely to trend next. Newme, for instance, has built a dedicated data science team that uses these insights to drive design and inventory decisions, cofounder Sumit Jasoria told ET. Cautionary signs Despite the buzz, challenges persist. One of them is customer behaviour. While there's early interest in fast delivery, shoppers tend to play it safe. Dungarwal said although customers initially showed enthusiasm when Snitch joined platforms like Myntra's M-Now, Slikk and Knot, many reverted to buying only wardrobe basics such as black t-shirts or shirts via these services. 'We've done multiple polls with consumers. Most of them said they don't buy clothes last-minute unless they have a sudden plan or urgent need,' he said. Another issue is forecasting fashion demand at a hyperlocal level. 'If a brand misjudges demand at the pin code level, it will be stuck with unsold inventory,' said a Bengaluru-based industry expert. 'Liquidating it will mean additional cost.' Returns are another pain point. Sizing, fit and comfort issues lead to high return rates in fashion, and rapid delivery doesn't solve for that. 'These platforms are burning money to process returns, which can go as high as 35-40%,' the expert added. The rapid fashion model is still in its early days. While there's excitement around it, the real test will be how brands manage inventory, reduce returns and drive consistent demand without compromising margins, say industry experts.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Menswear fashion brand Snitch raises up to $40 million in round led by 360 One Asset
Existing investors, Singapore-based VC firm SWC Global, early-stage VC firm IvyCap Ventures, Ravi Modi Family Office (founders of Manyavar) and other angel investors participated. The funds will help scale offline retail stores to over 100 by the end of 2025, enter quick commerce, launch new product categories across apparel and lifestyle and pilot global markets. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Omnichannel menswear fashion brand Snitch has raised up to $40 million in a funding round led by 360 One Asset (formerly IIFL Wealth & Asset Management).The round also saw participation from existing investors Singapore-based venture capital firm SWC Global, early-stage venture capital firm IvyCap Ventures, along with Ravi Modi Family Office (founders of Manyavar) and other angel funds will be used to scale offline retail stores to over 100 by the end of 2025, enter quick commerce, launch new product categories across apparel and lifestyle and pilot international in 2020, Snitch operates in the fast fashion segment, where large companies such as H&M and Zudio also operate. Snitch, which sells a range of menswear, including shirts, T-shirts, jeans, jackets, sweaters, hoodies and accessories, currently operates around 59 physical stores across India.'We closed FY25 at over Rs 500 crore in net sales, with a strong omnichannel footprint and consistent growth… Our goal is to scale to over Rs 900 crore,' founder Siddharth Dungarwal told offline retail contributes to 50% of its revenue, followed by its website and app, which contribute 35%, with the remaining coming from FY24, the brand had reported revenue of Rs 243 crore, as per Tracxn. It is yet to file financial statements for 2024-25 with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).The Bengaluru-based company last raised funding in December 2023, when it got an infusion of Rs 110 crore in a round led by SWC Global and IvyCap on the investment, Chetan Naik, senior fund manager and strategy head - technology, 360 One Asset, said, 'Snitch is one of the fastest-growing, profitable, scaled D2C brands in India . It has built a unique playbook in Indian fashion, combining trend agility, digital-first execution, and omnichannel reach.''Our reinvestment in Snitch further confirms our conviction in its strong execution ability, capital-efficient growth, and sharp positioning in the men's fashion space,' Vikram Gupta, founder and managing partner, IvyCap Ventures.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Shark Tank India 2 fame menswear brand pitcher raises Rs 340 crore; makes Rs 2,500 crore valuation
Bengaluru-based menswear brand named Snitch that once made waves on Shark Tank India Season 2, has achieved a remarkable milestone — securing Rs.340 crore in Series B funding at a soaring valuation of over Rs.2,500 crore. Founded in 2020 by Siddharth Dungarwal, Snitch has built a strong identity as a trend-first fashion label catering to Gen Z and millennial men. Its rapid-fire release of new collections—dropping fresh designs every week—has positioned the brand as a cult favorite. Snitch's agile business model, powered by lean manufacturing and a quick-turnaround supply chain, allows it to keep inventory cycles tight while staying profitable. This strategy has helped the company clock 120% year-on-year growth. With the newly raised capital, Snitch aims to more than double its retail footprint, expanding from 55 stores to 100 by the end of 2025. The brand is also gearing up to explore international markets and quick commerce as part of its next growth phase. The startup first captured national attention with its Shark Tank India debut, where it raised Rs.1.5 crore at a Rs.100 crore valuation from all five sharks — Anupam Mittal, Aman Gupta, Namita Thapar, Vineeta Singh, Peyush Bansal, and Amit Jain — in exchange for a 1.5% equity stake. From a bootstrapped newcomer, Snitch's rise underscores the power of strategic scaling, bold branding, and investor confidence.
