Aditya Birla venture to invest Rs 290 crore in 8 digital-first lifestyle brands

TMRW, an Aditya Birla Group venture, said it is investing Rs 290 crore to acquire eight digital-first lifestyle brands, in an attempt to build a billion-dollar D2C portfolio in the next few years.
These include women's western wear Berrylush, casual wear Bewakoof, Juneberry, a casual wear brand, teen's occasion wear Natilene, kid's wear Nauti Nati, athleisure brand Nobero, casual and denim wear Urbano and Veirdo. The brands have a combined revenue run-rate of ?700 crore and the company said it will more than double to cross an annual revenue rate of ?1,500 crore in the next 12 months.

"What the founders bring is typical to any startup. What got the brand here is definitely needed to take the brand to the next level, which is the consumer insight, the passion, maybe some category nuance, which they have identified through a white space," Prashanth Aluru, CEO of TMRW, told ET. "But equally what got them here, we know will not get them to the next level. And hence, their deep partnership with the TMRW team will continue and be founder-led and their teams playing an active role," he said, adding that the plan in the first year is to build a portfolio of 10 to12 brands with an investment of ?500-600 crore.

Some of these transactions are subject to customary closing conditions and signing of definitive documents, TMRW said. As the world's second-most populated country, India is an attractive market for apparel brands, especially with youngsters increasingly embracing western-style clothing.