Purplle Group raises ₹1,000 crore at $1.25 bn valuation in round led by ADIA as it seeks to open more offline stores

Manish Taneja, co-founder and CEO of Purplle, said the latest funding round will support the company's vision of building a sustainable and profitable business.

Omnichannel beauty and personal care products platform Purplle Group on 1 July, announced that it has raised ₹1,000 crore in a funding round led by an arm of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), along with participation from other marquee investors.

Cumulatively, the start-up has now raised more than $500 million, while its pre-money valuation has increased to $1.25 billion in the latest funding round, from the $1.1-billion valuation it had received in its previous funding round.

Purplle, in a statement, said that the latest funding round includes a combination of primary and secondary shares.

“In increasing its shareholding in Purplle, ADIA has continued to support us as we pursue our vision of building a sustainable and profitable business,” said Manish Taneja, co-founder and CEO of Purplle.

Mint had reported on talks of the funding round in April and said that the company plans to open more offline stores this year, as it seeks to keep up with the changing preferences of customers looking for more hybrid modes of shopping.

A growing vision

Founded in 2012 by Taneja and Rahul Dash, Purplle sells a wide range of beauty and personal care products, typically catering to households with an annual income of ₹5-30 lakh.

Most of its target market resides in tier 2 and tier 3 towns, and it gets about half of its revenues from more than 78 cities, such as Mysore, Coimbatore, Kochi, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Siliguri.

“It is our mission to democratise beauty and make it accessible to all, and while we have reached many beauty enthusiasts across India, we still have a long way to go,” said Taneja.

“We will constantly innovate and leverage our technology and data capabilities to provide our customers with the best omnichannel experience,” he added.

Taneja had told Mint in April that the company, which has just two offline stores currently, plans to open 5-10 more in the next few months.

Also Read: Purplle plans offline push, may see $100 mln infusion from ADIA

Purplle has also announced its largest employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) liquidity program and will offer equity worth ₹50 crore to its employees, after this funding round.

The beauty platform has granted ESOPs to 320 employees to date, and 85 of them have liquidated their ESOPs worth ₹75 crore over three previous buyback programs.

While the company is operationally profitable, according to its statement announcing the latest funding round, it expects to grow its online platform faster than the industry, while scaling offline stores and improving profitability.

Purplle is backed by many marquee investors including ADIA, Kedaara Capital, Premji Invest, Sequoia Capital India, JSW Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Verlinvest, Blume Ventures, and Paramark Ventures, among others.