Yebhi.com raises Rs 100 crore funding

The funding for the parent brand of the e-commerce portal, Big Shoe Bazaar India, was led by Fidelity Growth Partners India and Qualcomm Incorporated.

Big Shoe Bazaar India, the brand owner of e-commerce portal Yebhi.com, has raised Rs 100 crore ($20 million) in Series C round of funding led by Fidelity Growth Partners India and Qualcomm Incorporated, through its venture capital investment arm, Qualcomm Ventures. Existing investors, Nexus Venture Partners and Catamaran also participated. In 2010, the company raised Rs 10 crore ($2 million) of Series A funding by Nexus Venture Partners, followed by a second round of funding of Rs 40 crore ($8 million) in 2011 led by Catamaran Ventures.

The wholesale cash and carry venture supplies shoes, apparel, lifestyle accessories, jewellery, mobiles, electronics, kitchenware and homeware across a variety of brands from wholesalers to smaller retailers through an online catalogue.

Commenting on the development, Raul Rai, managing director, Fidelity Growth Partners India, says, "Big Shoe Bazaar is best positioned and equipped to support the needs of mass market e-commerce sites like Yebhi.com. Global leaders in the mass market segment were able to take up value-based positions based on very strong back end capabilities. We believe Big Shoe Bazaar's strengths are unparalleled in the backend."

"The number of internet users via mobile has already surpassed internet users via PC, creating a growing opportunity to reach mobile-connected consumers with unique shopping experiences. Our investment in Big Shoe Bazaar has come at a time when the rapid rise of smartphones, tablets and social media networks stands to greatly influence the way people engage in online shopping. We are delighted to co-lead this financing round," adds Karthee Madasamy, senior director, Qualcomm Ventures, India and Israel.

Elaborating on the growing portfolio of the company, Manmohan Agarwal, CEO, Big Shoe Bazaar India, says, "Yebhi.com has pioneered mass market e-commerce in India and has taken significant first mover advantage in this large segment. Big Shoe Bazaar's state of the art fulfilment centre, efficiencies in our supply chain and our logistics network are key to supporting Yebhi.com's customer connect. Our Series C round of investments will further strengthen these core initiatives."