Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail (ABFRL) is set to acquire a controlling stake in apparel and accessories brand Bewakoof for about INR 100 Cr. This acquisition will mark the company’s official foray into the direct-to-consumer segment.

“Both companies have signed a non-disclosure agreement and have also finished due diligence. The team at Bewakoof is also moving to join Aditya Birla’s new firm,” a senior executive said, according to an ET report.

Mumbai-based D2C fashion brand Bewakoof specialises in self-expressive merchandise. While it started with its focus on theme-based T-shirts, the brand has now branched out into casual wear and accessories, including hoodies and sweaters, joggers, pants and trousers, footwear, mobile covers, notebooks and backpacks.

Last year, it raised INR 60 Cr ($8.09 Mn) in a pre-series B round led by existing investor InvestCorp. The round also saw participation from IvyCap Ventures and Spring Marketing Capital.

It is interesting to note that, earlier this year, Aditya Birla Group launched TMRW, its ‘House of Brands’ business, to roll out and back new-age digital businesses.

TMRW would use the capabilities and networks of Aditya Birla Group and ABFRL to boost emerging D2C brands, the company said.

Speaking at Inc42’s ‘The D2C Summit 3.0’, TMRW cofounder and CEO Prashanth Aluru said that the ‘House of Brands’ business of the Aditya Birla Group intends to focus on the brand and marketplace-led growth in its initial growth phase.

“While our approach is digital-first, in the initial journey of brand’s growth, we will focus on brand.com and marketplace-led growth, but over time, omnichannel and offline will also be important,” Aluru said.

According to Inc42’s latest report, ‘The State of Indian Ecommerce, Q3 2022. In Focus: D2C’, the online fashion market in India is poised to reach $43 Bn+ in 2025 from the current projection of $22.7 Bn in 2022. Overall, the D2C market in India, which currently has more than 50K active brands, is projected to become a $300 Bn opportunity by 2030.