Caravan has raised Rs. 8.5 crore in a fresh round of funding, from its existing investor Unitus Seed Fund. With this round of funding, the company’s total raised capital comes to around Rs. 12 crore. The company will use the money raised to fuel its expansion in India as well as in International markets.
The company was launched in 2008 by former chief executive of Hidesign Kunal R Sachdev but the company launched as a brand in 2013 with its first store in Bengaluru.
Caravan attempts to bridge the gap between the rich reservoir of traditional Indian craftsmanship and the evolving needs of contemporary living. In so doing, the company is seeking to revive artistic heritage and aims to protect the livelihood of artisans.
Since its inception, the company has managed to open two more store in Pune and Mumbai. And now, it is planning to open its fourth store next month, this time in Chennai.
It is selling contemporary products across five major categories- apparel, jewelery, home decor, gifts and toys. It has an inventory of 2000 SKUs, tapping into skill-sets of local artisans. It works with artisan clusters, NGOs, family units, self-help groups, etc. and trains them on skills required to meet Caravan’s quality standards.
The company is currently working with about 560 artisans all over India and has trained 7,000 people to date. It is also selling its line of jewelry at Globus, a Switzerland-based department store. It is looking to enter other European markets in spring-summer of 2016.
Commenting about the investment, Srikrishna Ramamoorthy, Partner, Unitus Seed Fund, said,
Our seed investment in Caravan in 2013 was anchored by strength of the team, the India retail opportunity and large scale impact that Caravan was intending to create. We’ve seen that play out well over the past two years – the supply chain is now in place and the brand well established. We continue to believe in the team and the opportunity and are excited about the planned retail footprint expansion in India and elsewhere and online.
