Lifestyle brand Bewakoof crossed Rs250 crore sales mark during FY22

Direct-to-consumer (D2C) firm Bewakoof, said sales expanded 30% to Rs250 crore during the year ended March 2022, helped by newer categories and increased reach. The company which sells apparel and accessories will enter segments including activewear and innerwear in the current fiscal.

The company said it is targeting to reach Rs1000 crore in the next four years and focus on reducing costs and controlling the burn rate. So far, the company has raised Rs160 crore in funding from investors including InvestCorp, IvyCap Ventures and Spring Marketing Capital.

"In terms of product expansion, growth has come on the back of the launch of streetwear and customisation. So far the brand was available only on its own native website but it has expanded to marketplaces such as Myntra, Amazon, Flipkart among others," said Prabhkiran Singh, founder and CEO at Bewakoof who launched the brand a decade ago.

Nearly 600 new D2C companies have entered the Indian market in the past three years, according to Tracxn, a market intelligence provider of private company data.
The D2C market opportunity in India is expected to be $100 billion by 2025.

As the world’s second most-populated country, India is an attractive market for apparel brands, especially with youngsters increasingly embracing western-style clothing. "For us, each lifestyle product is a medium to express. We see limited innovation has happened in expression when it comes to categories like activewear and innerwear. Hence, Bewakoof sees a white space here and wants to provide this design innovation to its customers," added Singh.

With a median population age of about 27 years, India is estimated to have about 390 million millennials and about 440 million in the Gen-Z cohort, according to a study by consulting firm Deloitte. This is a large consumer base for the activewear and athleisure segment within the overall Rs 5.3 lakh crore Indian apparel market.

According to Shiprocket, CII (Confederation of Indian Industries), and Praxis Global Alliance, the apparel and footwear D2C market size is estimated to be $3 billion in FY22 and is projected to be $14 billion, growing at a CAGR of 35%. "Quirky latest design backed by celebrity fashion choices helped D2C brands to stand out," added the report.