MUMBAI: FableStreet - a technology-enabled premium work wear brand, offering timeless, versatile pieces, with custom fits for women, has raised Rs 21 crore in Series A led by Fireside Ventures. Industry power-lifters including Uber India and South Asia president Pradeep Parameswaran,Deutsche Bank MD and head of technology Dilip Khandelwal, and RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (FMCG) CEO Suhail Sameer have also participated in this round and invested in their personal capacities.
The newly raised funds will be utilised for market expansion including offline presence, adding product categories and hiring senior professionals who will partner in growth and brand building. As a tech-enabled brand, it also plans to invest in AI and machine learning to build a customer recommendation engine, strengthen product development and set up a tech-enabled efficient supply chain. FableStreet is already ahead of curve in this space with its strong data-backed proprietary tailored fit algorithm - a sizing algorithm that only requires the customer to provide three body measurements online to extrapolate the remaining measurements to 95 per cent accuracy and build a custom-fit garment.
FableStreet plans to enter offline retail with brand-owned stores in the coming months and will now adopt an omnichannel model.
The three-year-old home-grown brand has a significant customer base within India and, internationally and, is endorsed by top women CXOs in the country. It has registered a growth of 50 per cent Q-o-Q. The return rate for its products is negligible, in contrast to most e-commerce players, owing to their focus on product quality and fits. Besides, it generates half of its revenues from repeat customers – a proof of its brand loyalty.
The brand is one of the first Indian brands to tap the growing white space of ‘women’s formal wear with a unique business model and competes with the likes of Marks & Spencer, Massimo Dutti, Zara amongst others in quality workwear category.
FableStreet founder and CEO Ayushi Gudwani said, “We are building a one-stop destination for all lifestyle needs of professional women. Since launch, we have seen massive product acceptance, globally, and our ‘My Style, Your Fit’ concept to offer bespoke fits has to be the real differentiator. We are excited to partner with Fireside in this journey to scale FableStreet.”
Fireside Ventures partner and CFO Dipanjan Basu quoted, “We have been impressed with strong brand followership and customer excitement for FableStreet. The brand has a sharp understanding of customer needs and has constantly evolved to provide quality and unique solutions to address them. We, at Fireside, believe that personalization and technology-driven business models will be the new frontrunners in the consumer segment and are pleased to support Ayushi and her vision to provide quality and premium work wear to women.”
Basu is also joining FableStreet as one of the board members.
FableStreet operates in a $1.2+ Billion work wear industry which is still a white space and undergoing fundamental evolution with increasing the number of women entering the workforce and, with consumers investing in quality clothing.
In 2017, FableStreet had raised an undisclosed sum in seed funding from a clutch of angel investors including Fashion Veteran, Harmeet Bajaj, Unilever vice president Pameela Pattabiraman, Fusiontech Ventures and other investors in the consumer, retail, and technology sectors.
