Indya and FabAlley’s parent company High Street Essentials raises $6M in funding

High Street Essentials (HSE), the parent company of women’s fashion brands Indya and FabAlley, has raised $6 million or Rs 50 crore in debt and equity. 

The round of funding was led by Sangita Jindal, Chairperson of JSW Foundation, with participation from other investors such as the family offices of SRF Group, Krishna Bodanapu of Cyient Technologies, and Timmy Sarna from Pure Home + Living.

The infusion consists of a combination of equity and debt, with three-fourths being an equity infusion for a minority stake.

What is the purpose of fundraising?

The funds raised will be utilized for the strategic business expansion of Indya's premium occasion wear range, "Weddings By Indya". This includes plans to invest up to $3 million in FY25 to open ten new offline stores across the country.

Indya's co-founder, Shivani Poddar, emphasized the synergies with the JSW Foundation’s work with village artisans as a significant driver for the partnership.

Additionally, Indya aims to establish a physical presence either in the US or South Africa within the next 18 months, expanding its already strong international direct-to-consumer ecommerce business.

What does Indya do?

Founded in 2012 by Shivani Poddar and Tanvi Malik, Indya specializes in ethnic clothing and accessories for women, while FabAlley caters to women’s Western apparel and loungewear needs.

Indya is currently retailed through 12 exclusive brand outlets in eight cities and 150 large-format retail outlets, including Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Centro, and Ethnicity.

Internationally, Indya has a growing presence with its second store in Malaysia and significant ecommerce operations across 43 countries.

Leadership comments

Sangita Jindal highlighted that Indya’s core strength lies in their unique designs and strong back-end capabilities.

"This investment will empower them to fuel Indya’s global expansion while allowing them to take a larger share of the vast Indian wedding wear market," Jindal said.

The Indian wedding wear market is valued at $15 billion, and Indya aims to capitalize on this by opening over 100 wedding stores across the country over the next few years. Indya’s collaboration with Indian designers like Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna, Varun Bahl, Ashish N Soni, and Nikhil Thampi is expected to further bolster its market position.

How well Indya has performed financially?

According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, High Street Essentials has raised Rs 180 crore ($21.6 million) so far, excluding the current round, and was valued at Rs 700 crore ($84 million).

The company’s revenue from operations increased by 17.8% to Rs 185 crore in FY23 from Rs 157 crore in FY22, while losses remained constant at Rs 45 crore in FY23.