Footwear start-up Yoho has raised Rs. 27 crore in it’s recent funding round driven by Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), an investment firm with assets worth more than US $ 4.5 billion under its management.
Founders Ahmad Hushsam and Prateek Singhal have shared that the funds will be utilised for their growth-related initiatives, research and development, recruitment, marketing and offline business expansion plans. Yoho has previously raised an amount of Rs. 20 crore in October 2022.
The current investment round witnessed the attendance of angel investors like Rajeev Misra, chief executive officer of SoftBank Investment Advisers, Rukam Capital, Paytm CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Shyft founder Pankaj Chaddah. Prateek Singhal also shared that their core target audience is 28 to 40 years old, who like colour and style, value comfort, and don’t just go for fashion.
Yoho currently aims to expand its offline stores across the country and is eyeing partnerships 2,000 multi-brand outlets (MBOs) in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities. It also plans to expand its existing range of styles and products to reach targeted 300 styles by 2025.
Singhal said, “Year-on-year, we are growing at almost 300 per cent, and this year, we are aiming to close at an overall revenue of around Rs. 90 crores”. He added that the shoe segment has seen a growth of 400 per cent and the slipper segment grew by nearly 180 per cent in the current year.
About 80 per cent of Yoho’s revenue comes from online sources, with its own website accounting for 26-27 per cent and other marketplaces for the remaining portion. Offline sales account for 20 per cent of the total.
The footwear start-up also plans to expand its presence in the international markets of Africa, Middle East and the US in the coming year. GII cofounder Mohammed Al-Hassan said, “Yoho’s strategy of fusing cost and biomechanical know-how fills a significant market need that GII’s investment can help with.”
SoftBank Investment CEO Mishra also shared, “We observe a huge gap in the consumer market for reasonably priced, scientifically developed footwear that appeals to the discriminating Indian consumer. Yoho’s novel strategy, which blends accessibility with biomechanical knowledge, is well-positioned to close this gap.”