Hyderabad-based wedding services provider AppilyEver.com has pivoted to become an online fashion portal called Estrolo, a top company executive told VCCircle.
Estrolo co-founder Rakesh Gupta said the company pivoted in January-February this year, without any changes in the parent entity or founding team.
AppilyEver.com offered would-be brides and grooms a wedding commerce store, and a wedding app with social features and expert advice.
“When we were a wedding services provider, wedding fashion was also a crucial part of it. However, we saw a much larger opportunity in the fashion space. Besides, offering a product is a stronger business proposition than offering services,†Gupta explained.
Estrolo sells fashion products under its own brand, and claims to offer over 300 styles across categories like t-shirts and jeans. More category launches are in the offing, Gupta said.
“Introducing new styles every week inspired by the latest prevailing fashion trends is our USP...We do it in a manner where we do not carry a lot of inventory,†he added.
The company, which has an in-house design team, currently outsources the manufacturing process to traditional units. It makes deliveries through third-party logistics players.
Besides expanding product categories, Estrolo intends to adopt an omni-channel strategy by going offline, tying up with multi-brand outlets and other e-commerce portals. It will open its first exclusive store in Hyderabad by the next quarter, and is looking at Bangalore, Pune and Delhi as its next ports of call.
“We are in talks with multi-brand brick-and-mortar outlets. Our products were recently launched on Limeroad and we are in final stages of negotiations with Myntra and Jabong,†said Gupta.
In February last year, VCCircle reported that With Ease Technologies India Pvt. Ltd, which operated AppilyEver.com, had raised $400,000 (around Rs 2.75 crore then) in an angel round.
The company is looking to raise more funds for expansion, for which it will hit the market in a few weeks, Gupta added.
AppilyEver.com was founded in 2015 by Gupta, an ISB alumnus and former McKinsey executive, and Sumit Handa, a Symbiosis alumnus and former ITC executive. Besides McKinsey, Gupta has worked with Microsoft and People Combine. He had earlier co-founded OrderMonger.com, an online food and grocery ordering platform.
