Continuing his ongoing investment spree into India’s new-age companies, Ratan Tata has made yet another undisclosed personal investment — picking up online lingerie retailer Zivame.
This fresh Tata investment comes just a couple of weeks after the company raised a whooping $40 million in its Series C round of funding , led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Zodius Technology Fund, along with the participation of existing investors Unilazer, IDG Ventures and Kalaari Capital.
As per an Economic Times’ report though, Rata Tata invested in the company much before it raised its Series C round of funding. The investment amount remains unknown.
Post its Series C round, Zivame had said that it plans to use these funds to get more women to shop online, strengthening its merchandise offering with innovative products, increasing consumer touch points and building the category with path-breaking technology.
Along with that, taking cue from the fact that it receives over 60% of its traffic from mobile, the company had announced the launch of its mobile application which is claimed to be the first dedicated lingerie app for women in India. With a browse-driven experience, the app is made for speed with a two click checkout process.
Zivame is offering over 5,000 lingerie styles, 50 brands and 100 sizes. While it earlier used to act as an aggregator, it pivoted its model and launched its private labels for higher margin.
Since Ratan Tata stepped down from an active role in Tata Group, he has been actively investing in many startups, especially internet companies in his personal capacity. He has invested — all in personal capacity — in PayTM, Ola, Snapdeal, Xiaomi, HolaChef, YourStory, among others.
He is also serving as adviser for Kalaari Capital, Jungle Ventures and recently joined IDG Ventures in an advisory role, though in a more extended manner.
According to a report by Indian Retail, the market opportunity in online lingerie segment is large. The total lingerie market in India was valued at $3 billion last year, of which around 1 per cent was online.
