Mensa Brands: Announced the acquisition of digital-first Indian denim brand

27 December 2021, Mumbai:

Mensa Brands, a Thrasio-style rollup e-commerce startup, has announced the acquisition of digital-first Indian denim brand High Star for an undisclosed amount. This is the fourteenth acquisition for Mensa Brands, India’s fastest startup to enter the unicorn club.

Ananth Narayanan, Founder, and CEO of Mensa Brands, in a statement, confirmed the acquisition and stated that the company plans to over tenfold its gross revenue in the next five years.

Adding further he said, “Our team has outlined a strategic roadmap for expanding the brand’s footprints in the domestic and international markets across channels to reach consumers and continue to improve customer experience.”

High Star, founded in 2012 by Rohit Mirchandani, its clothing line includes a range of jeans, jeggings, palazzos, jackets, skirts, including shorts for men, women, & children. It sells its products on various Indian e-commerce platforms such as Ajio, Bewakoof, Myntra, and Flipkart.

Rohit Mirchandani, the founder of High Star, commented on the acquisition saying, “Mensa’s team will bring their expertise to expand the brand’s presence pan India and take it global. Within the first year of onboarding, Mensa will support us in areas such as digital marketing, technology, working capital management, and channel expansion.”

Some reports suggests, the online fashion sector is estimated to be worth $43 billion by 2025. By then, apparel and footwear will dominate the category, accounting for nearly 77.6 percent of the total market.

The Bangalore-based Thrasio-style startup is on an acquisition spree, earlier this month it acquired Mumbai-based Folkulture, a home décor, and kitchenware brand. It has also acquired the kidswear brand LilPicks, which is aiming for gross revenue of Rs 500 crore in the next four years with Mensa on board.

The six-month-old startup in October of this year acquired 13 digital-first D2C consumer brands, which include designer sarees, men’s apparel, jewelry, smart devices, and personal care. Since their acquisition, the majority of these brands have grown by 100 percent YoY (year on year).

Mensa aims to have a portfolio of more than 50 ventures across beauty, home, fashion, garden, and personal care.

Mensa Brands, founded by former Myntra CEO Ananth Narayanan, is backed by marquee investors which include Accel Partners, Tiger Global Management, Norwest Venture Partners, Prosus, and Falcon Edge Capital.

It has also secured debt financing from Alteria Capital, Piramal Capital, InnoVen Capital, TradeCred, and Stride Ventures.

The ‘Thrasio-model’ is called after Thrasio, an American firm that popularized the concept of acquiring small, successful brands and scaling them up through its own network and market expertise.

TECH STORY (The news article has not been edited by DFU Publications staff)

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