The Souled Store, a lifestyle and fan goods firm based in Mumbai, has secured roughly Rs. 135 crore (US $ 16.4 million) in a Series C round headed by Xponentia Capital Partners and featuring participation from previous investors Elevation Capital and RPSG Capital.
This represents the biggest consumer sector investment made by Xponentia Capital. The business intends to open more than 100 outlets around the nation in the next two years and will utilise the funding to diversify into additional product categories.
The Souled Store’s ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) scheme will also include a 100 per cent buyback of shares held by vested employees.
“We will be buying all the vested ESOPs as we want to make a habit of it. We have been selective about whom we have allotted ESOPs to and we would like our employees to see value in it,” Vedang Patel, Co-founder at The Souled Store was quoted as saying.
According to data platform Tracxn, as of May of last year, the company has allotted 3.7 per cent of its shares to its ESOP scheme, for an unrealized value of Rs 29.7 crore.
It presently has 12 stores spread across five cities, and in addition to fan merchandise apparel for the target demographic of 18–32-year-olds, it has also started to provide sneakers and kidswear.
“Of the 12 stores, eight were opened last year. Our stores take a maximum of two to three months to recover the capex. We have stores in Bengaluru, Pune, Gurugram, Mumbai, and Indore,” said Patel.
Patel, along with Rohin Samtaney, Aditya Sharma, and Harsh Lal, created The Souled Shop in 2013. Data from Tracxn show that it has since raised close to US $ 13.1 million. Its brand ambassador is actress Sara Ali Khan, who invested in the firm in March 2022.
“The Souled Store has established a distinctive brand and is in the process of creating a large community that identifies and relates with its casual wear products,” said PR Srinivasan, Managing Partner at Xponentia Capital, in a statement, adding, “We look forward to supporting Vedang and his team as The Souled Store continues to innovate and delight its customers.”
According to The Souled Store, its website accounts for roughly 70 per cent of all orders, with 15 per cent coming from other online marketplaces and the remaining orders coming from its physical stores.
“We have built a sticky, repeatable customer base and our repeat rates are as high as 90 per cent in six months. We have managed to crack this as most direct-to-consumer brands rely on online marketplaces for almost 80 per cent of their orders,” Patel
