Nykaa.com, an online luxury beauty retailer founded by investment banker-turned entrepreneur Falguni Nayar, has raised Rs 82 crore in a fresh round of fundraising led by Sunil Munjal and the Mariwala family, cementing interest from affluent Indian families in a rapidly growing ecommerce market space in the country.

The transaction, which is expected to be announced this week, will value the firm at about Rs 775 crore. Some of the existing investors also participated in this fourth round of fundraising, sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

The company had raised its Series C fundraising in October last year. TVS Capital, Marico Founder Harsh Mariwala, Hexaware Founder Atul Nishar, and Dalip Pathak, former India and Europe Head of Warburg Pincus, took part in that round besides Michael Carlos, former President of Swiss fragrance maker Givaudan.

Founded in 2013 by FSN E-Commerce Ventures, Nykaa is spearheaded by Falguni Nayar, a former Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital Investment Banking, and her husband Sanjay Nayar, CEO and India Head of US buyout giant KKR & Co.

Nykaa will use the funds to significantly expand its operations and add more brands under its label, sources said. The company is also planning to open more retail stores besides its core online market strategy.

With Rs 250 crore net revenue in FY16, Nykaa has been growing rapidly with a key focus on its core business segments. The company has opened four physical stores across the country and has added more brands to its kitty.

The luxury retailer sells 400 brands and 35,000 products across various categories, its website showed. In March 2016, Nykaa introduced private labeled products and is also expanding its product offerings.

The ecommerce market in India is expected to double to Rs 2 lakh crore by December, according to industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB. The market grew 30 per cent between December 2011 and December 2015 and was valued at Rs 1,25,732 crore by the end of December last year, led by the online travel industry which accounted for 63 per cent of the overall share, the report said.

Source: Economic Times