Aditya Birla Group led incubator buys majority stake in 8 lifestyle brands

With these eight brands on board, TMRW has achieved a revenue run-rate of over Rs 700 crore and is on a path to cross an annual revenue rate of Rs 1,500 crore in the next 12 months

TMRW, an Aditya Birla Group’s (ABG’s) ‘house of brands’ venture, has announced partnerships with eight technology-led digital-first lifestyle labels and has picked up majority stakes in these brands for a total of Rs 289 crore. 

TMRW has an established strong D2C portfolio across multiple large and growing sub-categories across these eight brands. The brands are women’s westernwear label Berrylush, casualwear brand Bewakoof, women’s westernwear brand Juneberry, teen’s occasionwear brand Natilene, kidswear Nauti Nati, athleisure and activewear brand Nobero, denimwear brand Urbano, and fast fashion brand Veirdo, it said.

The costliest acquisition was for Rs 200 crore as it picked up 73-80 per cent stake in Bewakoof through a combination of primary equity and debt infusion along with secondary stake acquisition via share subscription agreement, loan agreement and share purchase agreement respectively.  

With these eight brands aboard, TMRW has achieved a revenue run rate of over Rs 700 crore and is on course to cross an annual revenue rate of Rs 1,500 crore in the next 12 months, it said on Monday.

“The investment in these eight D2C brands establishes a strong foundation with a diversified portfolio across several fashion sub-categories. With this portfolio, TMRW has an established presence across a broad spectrum of apparel segments - ranging from casualwear and westernwear to kidswear,” the company said in a statement.

The company said it plans to expand in related lifestyle categories, including beauty and personal care (BPC).

It will look at investing in the non-apparel segments that include casual footwear, accessories, jewellery, along with BPC brands.

“Over the next three years, we are aiming at building a portfolio of 30 brands. In the first year alone, we are looking to close 10-12 brands and could be investing anywhere between Rs 500 crore and Rs 600 crore,” said Prashanth Aluru, chief executive officer and co-founder, TMRW, in conversation with Business Standard.

The ABG-led company is not only looking at established e-commerce players in the lifestyle space, but also at emerging brands that are small but disruptors in categories that are both established and emerging, said Aluru.

“We want to build a billion-dollar-plus house of brands entity which goes on to list. But above and beyond the listing, it will also play a large role in the digital e-commerce space in India. Some of these brands will go global,” he added.

TMRW is looking to bring in other long-term financial partners in the next six months to a year. It has started with capital and commitment backing from ABG, said Aluru, without divulging the potential fundraise from investors.

In its release, the company also said, “TMRW’s vision is to partner new-age founders by bringing in strategic, operational, and technological know-how, in addition to growth capital. With synergistic investments that will power multiple brands, TMRW will enable blitzscaling and brand building.”

Ashish Dikshit, managing director, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL), said, “…By tapping into ABFRL’s fashion capabilities and category expertise, TMRW is on the path to replicate the success in the digital-first space by building the next generation of memorable brands that will drive India’s e-commerce growth.”

In February this year, ABFRL announced it would set up a platform to foray into the D2C business. 

 ABFRL closed today's trading session up 0.55 per cent at Rs 312.30 per share on the National Stock Exchange.