InfoEdge-backed ShoeKonnect, which connects small offline footwear retailers with manufacturers is expanding to fashion and apparel in the B2B category.
Founded by three Delhi University graduates – Siddharth Vij, Chaitanya Rathi, and Siddharth Rastogi in 2014, and later joined by Shubham Agrawal, an IIM graduate as the co-founder, the startup wants to eliminate wholesalers and middlemen while empowering small retailers to procure directly from local shoe brands.
Initially bootstrapped, ShoeKonnect built a B2B platform for the footwear sector with manufacturers including brands like Columbus, Action, Campus, and others selling on its platform.
“A shoe retailer in a small city is also selling apparel and accessories. There is no reason why we should limit our offering when our product is well equipped at the technological level to offer more services” said Siddharth Vij, co-founder & CEO, ShoeKonnect.
The startup will turn into a full-fledged fashion B2B marketplace and aims to get on-board more than 50 lakh small retailers selling footwear, garments, and other fashion products on its platforms. The startup claims it will hit Rs 100 crore in monthly gross merchandise value or sales by the end of 2020.
ShoeKonnect is funded by InfoEdge, the parent of Naukri.com and a leading investor in Zomato and PolicyBazaar. It raised its first funding of Rs 95 lakh in late 2016 from Indian Angel Network (IAN).
“Now that they have executed successfully in one vertical, they will soon be replicating the business model in other verticals of the fashion industry like apparel and accessories,” said Kitty Agarwal-head of Corporate Development, InfoEdge.
