August Jewellery Pvt Ltd, which operates e-tailer Melorra, has raised $12.5 million (Rs 92 crore) in a new funding round.
The exercise in Bengaluru-based Melorra has been led by Symphony Asia and joined by Lightbox Ventures and Alteria Capital. Symphony Asia is a Hong Kong- and Singapore-based private equity firm led by Anil Thadani.
Other participants in the round include existing investors such as the Burman family office of Dabur fame, and the Jeejeebhoy family office.
It comes just under a year after Melorra raised $12 million (around Rs 85 crore) in a Series C round that was led by Lightbox Ventures. BlackSoil Capital and family offices including those of Ravi Sheth of the Great Eastern Shipping Company, Burman and Jeejeebhoy also took part.
Melorra was founded by Saroja Yeramilli in 2016. The company says its primary target audience is millennial women.
The startup will use the capital it has raised for enhancing its technological infrastructure, as well as product innovations and brand marketing. “Although raising capital has been tough in the market, funding in this period has re-established the investors’ belief in the business model and team,” Yeramilli said.
“Melorra has seen strong growth over the past few years, by bringing fast fashion jewellery to the millennial woman,” Thadani added.
Melorra claims to have recorded accelerated growth in order value and numbers since the easing of lockdown restrictions earlier this year, with average selling price having grown by 40% compared to pre-Covid levels.
In August 2018, VCCircle reported that Lightbox and BlackSoil had invested in the company. The funding came after a separate $3 million investment in Melorra by Lightbox in 2017. Lightbox had first invested $5 million in Melorra in early 2016.
