Fashion and apparel startup Newme has successfully raised seed funding of INR 45 Crore (approximately $5.4 million), with Fireside Ventures leading the investment round. Other participants include AUM Ventures, 2AM Ventures, and Allin Capital. The funds will be strategically utilized to enhance the supply chain, build a robust team, integrate technology across various verticals, and recruit leadership roles to scale up operations.
Founded in 2022 by Sumit Jasoria, Shivam Tripathi, Vinod Naik, and Himanshu Chaudhary, Newme caters to the fashion needs of women aged 16-24, offering a range of clothing items such as tops, bottoms, and dresses. The startup has established an omnichannel presence, operating through three physical stores in Bengaluru and Mumbai, alongside its website and mobile application in the online space.
The upcoming months will see Newme expanding its offline footprint with plans to launch 30 to 40 stores in key cities like Pune, Delhi NCR, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kolkata, and Guwahati within a year. CEO Sumit Jasoria emphasized the importance of technology adoption to scale the business while concurrently focusing on strengthening the offline presence.
Jasoria shared the startup’s vision to introduce more fashion categories for women, with a future plan to extend their offerings to GenZ men. However, this expansion into men’s fashion is anticipated to take place in the next 2-3 years.
Newme faces competition from notable players like Absolute Brands, Snitch, Styched, and Virgio. Competitors in the market have also been actively securing funding for various strategic initiatives. For instance, Absolute Brands recently raised $2.5 million in its seed funding round to enhance its offline retail presence and invest in tech innovation.
Similarly, Snitch secured INR 110 Crore in a Series A funding round in December last year, focusing on talent and technology scaling, along with developing an offline retail strategy.
The funding secured by Newme aligns with the optimistic outlook for the Indian fashion and apparel segment. According to Inc42’s State Of Indian Ecommerce Report Q3 2023, the market is expected to surpass $112 billion by 2030, demonstrating a robust 24% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR).
