RapidBox, a Bengaluru-based D2C footwear and apparel brand operated by Trusource Technology Private Limited, has announced raising US $ 4.5 million in Series A round of funding led by SIG Venture Capital, the Asian venture capital arm of Susquehanna International Group, along with Tanglin Venture Partners, India Quotient, Ananya Goenka and other investors. The brand intends to use the money raised to grow its product offerings, improve customer service and engage in brand-building initiatives.
RapidBox through its smartphone app, sells goods in a variety of categories, including footwear, sports equipment and casual clothing as well as marketplaces like Flipkart and Myntra. The company claims to have more than 2 million customers and attributes its success to its commitment to enhancing young millennials’ access to affordable and high-quality fashion products.
“With the advent of social media, consumers of all segments are exposed to the latest footwear trends and have the same aspiration for these products. RapidBox fulfills these aspirations through rapid innovation to deliver beautiful shoes at price points that work for the economy segment,” said Bhavani Rana, Investment Adviser at SIG.
RapidBox has an in-house factory with knitting machines and also uses vegan leather to produce footwear. The business claims that its direct and online selling model through e-commerce marketplaces helps to trim down channel costs.
“The latest investment round reinforces investors’ faith in RapidBox’s growth story. As a young brand, we see a lot of room for growth as we cater to growing footwear and fashion needs of consumers who are aspirational and early achievers,” said Arun Paliwal, Co-founder of RapidBox.
Looking ahead, the report predicts that the online D2C market for clothes and footwear will continue to grow at a rapid pace, reaching US $ 100 billion by 2025 accounting for almost 77.6 per cent of the total market. This growth will be driven by a number of factors, including the continued increase in online shopping, the continued rise of social media and the increasing preference for personalised products.
RapidBox was founded in 2019 by ex-Flipkart Executive Arun Paliwal and ex-dailyhunt Executive Manoj Baranwal. A year ago, RapidBox apparently received an undisclosed sum of money from the venture debt fund Black Soil Capital and others.