Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart is reported to be the top investor among a clutch of investors in a $1 million fund raising by celebrity fashion designer Masaba Gupta's luxury label House of Masaba.
This is the first time the 10-year-old brand has sought external funding.
The round also saw participation from Purple Style Labs, and Apurva Salarpuria, who has also invested in brands like Epigamia and Bira. Apoora Patni, from the Patni Group, also participated in the round. The transaction is facilitated by Ashika Capital.
“After being in the business of fashion for 10 years, it was the right time to bring on board institutional investors. I believe that the brand has immense scalability, both domestically and internationally. The idea was to partner with entrepreneurs who have successfully scaled businesses in the country," Masaba Gupta, creative director and founder, House of Masaba, said in a statement.
House of Masaba is known for its destination wedding wear and resort wear.
The funding will help the fashion brand scale up infrastructure and distribution network. It currently has 11 exclusive brand outlets in India and retail footprint in Dubai, the UK, and the US. Top brands such as Titan, Puma, Fiama Di Wills, Amrapali, Oppo, Chandon etc have teamed up with the fashion house.
“Masaba has been able to create a great brand backed by her unique designs. She is one of the youngest designers to do so and I believe she is just getting started on building a great business," Binny Bansal stated on the investment.
Masaba has been a part of Forbes India's 30 under 30 list, the Outlook Business power list - Women of Worth, Fortune's 40 under 40, to name a few.
Sagar Chhabra, CEO, House of Masaba, stated the bootstrapped label had grown from three to 11 stores in the last three year. He added:
"This round would enable us to continue this growth momentum, quadruple our production capacity, strengthen our team, and expand our retail footprint across the country."
House of Masaba is looking at raising a larger round later this year in order to establish a stronger retail foothold, domestically and internationally.