C2C fashion startup CoutLoot raises $1M in pre-Series A funding round led by Jadevalue Fintech

CoutLoot investment was led by the investment arm of Chinese unicorn CashBUS with participation from existing investors, including ArthaIndia Ventures and Venture Catalysts.

C2C fashion re-commerce platform CoutLoot recently received an investment of $1 million as a part of its ongoing pre-Series A funding round. Jadevalue Fintech, the investment arm of Chinese unicorn CashBUS, led the investment round, which also saw the participation of existing investors ArthaIndia Ventures and Venture Catalysts.

From a selling-only platform operating in Mumbai, CoutLoot has extended its operations across 14 cities and claims to have achieved more than 5,00,000+ app downloads.

Elaborating on the fund allocation blueprint, CoutLoot Co-Founder Mahima Kaul said, “With CoutLoot we've established a seamless model for C2C fashion, which has captured the imagination of our audiences very fast. We are aiming for aggressive and comprehensive expansion. With this funding boost, we'll aim to expand our footprint not only in terms of geography but by diversifying our operations into other categories within the C2C model as well. The aspirational value in India is increasing and the circular economy model compliments it really well. Times will only get more exciting with the next set of 500 million users coming online in the years to follow; we’re focused on building a mass market business for the millennials.”

Commenting on the investment, Johan Uddman, General Manager, Jadevalue Fintech, said, ““We believe that a technology driven re-commerce marketplace in India for the mass market creates value for all parties involved, including sellers, buyers, and the society at large. By having a customer-centric approach and building strong proprietary technology, CoutLoot creates a seamless and engaging customer experience, removing many of the barriers often encountered on the more traditional platforms. The young team only adds to the element of growth and aggressive approach to the segment.”

Incidentally, Jadevalue Fintech has lately focused on building deeper ties with Indian early stage startups aiming to create superior products and services by utilising technology with the mass market in focus and not just serving the top 5 percent of the population.

Growing footprint

Describing CoutLoot’s rapid growth as a premier C2C marketplace, existing investor Anirudh Damani, MD, Artha India Ventures , said, "CoutLoot's growing footprint is nothing short of revolutionary. It has built a strong bridge of trust and quality experience with consumers to an extent that their buyers are now becoming their sellers and vice versa. This is a significant moment in Indian ecommerce, and we hope other global investors and venture capital networks sit up and take notice of the amazing revenue opportunities offered by the Indian market."

Commenting on the growing focus of global investors on such segments, and the Indian startup ecosphere in general, Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Co-Founder and President, Venture Catalysts, said, “Indian startups have emerged as highly attractive avenues for global investors considering the scope offered by the home market, which is far from reaching its point of saturation, as experienced by European markets. The shared/circular economy model is catching the trend here, and the country has responded well to evolving future market relationships such as C2C and P2P business structures. Although they are still at a nascent stage, the growth of Indian startups following such models has significantly contributed to India’s fast emergence as a global investment hotspot. We hope tocontinue facilitating this inflow of global resources, technology, ideas, and skills towards the strengthening of India’s startup ecosphere.”

Apart from its app and website channel, CoutLoot also has an on-ground channel called Popup Shops, which is a thrift shop concept that the startup has been piloting for a while. Although still at a nascent stage, alternate and evolving market relationships such as C2C and P2P business structures are fast catching the trend here. CoutLoot is also backed by Facebook as the part of the FBstart programme. This is the second round of funding for the startup.