Mensa Brands, which acquires stakes in direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, has announced acquisition of leather brand Estalon, for an undisclosed amount.
The buy marks Mensa’s foray into the leather goods segment, which is gaining popularity both in domestic and international markets.
With this, Mensa Brands has till now completed acquisition of 15 brands in total.
Estalon has been primarily a family-owned firm with three generations of leather manufacturing experience. It specialises in leather goods for women, men's wallets, folios, gloves and other accessories.
“We envision Estalon becoming a leading global leather accessories brand from India with its strong product line and quality leather workmanship. The Estalon team has decades of experience in leather manufacturing, and we believe that with Mensa’s complementary skills in technology, operations and brand building, it is poised to achieve a high growth rate of 5X of the market in the next 3-5 years,” said Ananth Narayanan, Founder and CEO of Mensa Brands.
Mensa Brands, which was founded in 2021, follows a 'house of brands' or brand aggregation strategy, in which it acquires and partners with digital-first brands, with the goal of accelerating growth by providing on-the-ground expertise and tech-led interventions in marketing and operations
Earlier in December, Mensa acquired Mumbai-based home décor and kitchenware brand Folkulture. In the same month, Mensa acquired home-grown denim brand, High Star.
Last month, Mensa became the fastest Indian unicorn (startup with a valuation of $1 billion) as it raised $135 million (around Rs 1,013 crore) as a part of its latest series B funding round led by Falcon Edge Capital’s growth stage platform, Alpha Wave Ventures.
Mensa has raised more than $300 million (about Rs 2251 crore) in equity and debt in less than six months since launching the company. Accel Partners, Falcon Edge Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Prosus, and Tiger Global Management are among the company's notable investors. Alteria Capital, InnoVen Capital, Piramal Capital, Stride Ventures, and TradeCredit have all provided debt financing for the company.
FirstCry-backed GlobalBees, Fireside-backed 10Club, Powerhouse91, Upscalio, and Evenflow are among the other entrants in the thrasio-styled business model category.