Gen-Z focused fast fashion brand Newme has successfully raised $18 million in its Series A round, led by Accel with participation from existing investors Fireside Ventures and AUM Ventures.
The Bengaluru-based startup raised $5.4 million in January this year and secured an undisclosed round of funding from Aum Ventures, 2 am VC, and All In Capital in November 2022.
According to a company press release, the new funds will expand Newme’s omnichannel presence and strengthen its supply-chain technology.
Founded by Shivam Tripathi, Sumit Jasoria, and Vinod Naik, Newme sells self-branded clothing through both online and offline outlets. The company opened its first retail store in Bengaluru in July last year and has since expanded to five new cities with six retail outlets. Over the next 12-18 months, Newme plans to open 40-50 stores across 20 key cities, including underserved regions like Guwahati, Shillong, and Imphal.
In the past 18 months, Newme claims to have witnessed around 9X growth in revenue and is projecting at least three-fold growth this year.
Fast fashion brands have been attracting significant funding in recent years. For example, omnichannel ethnic wear brand Libas raised $18 million in its first funding round, and other notable names in the industry include DSLR, French Crown, and Virgio.
The fast fashion sector attracting venture capital is not new. Between 2012-17, investors funded several fast fashion companies like Zovi, Freecultr, Voonik, and YepMe. However, these companies eventually struggled to compete against Western brands, which maintain a strong presence in the Indian market.
Despite these challenges, there is potential for a company like Shein to emerge in the Indian market. It remains to be seen whether such a company will be developed by business giants like Reliance, Tata, and Birla, or by innovative startups like Newme.
