Sachin Tendulkar-backed celebrity fashion company Universal Sportsbiz has raised nearly Rs 100 crore from Accel NSE 4.35 % and its Growth Fund, along with NB Ventures Ltd and Alteria Capital.
The board resolution for the infusion of Rs 99.2 crore was passed on Wednesday, as per regulatory filings sourced from paper.vc. The company had raised Rs 100 crore from Accel last year at a valuation of $100 million. The latest infusion brings its total equity funding to close to $50 million. The company had earlier this year also raised debt funding of Rs 30 crore (about $4.5 million) from venture debt firm Alteria Capital.
Universal Sportsbiz launched its brand Wrogn with cricketer Virat Kohli for men’s fashion apparel and Imara for women’s ethnic wear in 2015. It later also launched MsTaken with actor Kriti Sanon, and has now signed up actor Jaqueline Fernandes for Imara.
Universal Sportsbiz sells its brands across 215 points of sale offline, along with online platforms Myntra, where Wrogn sells online exclusively, while the other two brands also sell on Jabong and Amazon. The company added 30 exclusive business outlets this year and is in the process of adding 30 more stores.
The company was founded in 2012 by Reddy, a graduate from University of Illinois, which she had then launched as a platform for fan merchandise. She pivoted the company to celebrity fashion brands in 2014
Reddy had told ET earlier this year that the company was on track to make Rs 320 crore in revenue, with 60% now coming from its offline channel, and 20% coming from its own EBOs.
