Bombay Shaving Company raises new funds in its sixth round of financing. The company counts Reckitt, Colgate-Palmolive, and Sixth Sense Venture Partners as investors.

It will deploy the funds towards expanding its portfolio of personal care & hair removal products. Along with launching new products, BSC will continue to aggressively expand its offline distribution, build international presence, invest in brand building, and hire talent across positions. BSC also intends to acquire brands in adjacent categories and content platforms and is in advanced talks to raise a further 21 million (₹300 crore) for this.

WHO: Visage Lines Personal Care is the Indian company that owns popular men's grooming brand Bombay Shaving Company, launched in 2016. Bombay Shaving Co. has a portfolio of over 100 products across shaving, bath and body, skin, and beard care. In 2020, the brand expanded into women's hair removal with their brand “Bombay Shaving Company–Women,” which now accounts for nearly 25% of the total business. The business has served over 3 million customers across channels in the six years of its existence.

WHY: The investment will bolster BSC's ambition to deliver 10x growth in the next 5 years. The infusion of capital will also be used to expand its product assortment, offline distribution, and its international footprint, and invest in marketing and hiring talent.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: "As we scale from Rs 150 crore to Rs 500 crore and Rs 1000 crore, we needed an investor group that could guide us on building an IPO-able company," said Shantanu Deshpande, founder and Chief Executive Officer of BSC. "We entered the market looking to raise Rs 100 crore but were delighted to have received offers of over Rs 500 crore. We will be evaluating how to further accommodate valuable investors."

"We love the passion of the team, their consumer orientation, and product innovation. In a short time, they have built a very sizable business and have a solid intrinsic," said Sumeet Nagar, Managing Director at Malabar Investments.

Deepak Gupta, Chief Operating Officer at BSC, said the firm plans to scale up its store presence from 50,000 to 200,000 selling points across India with the aim to grab a 15% share in hair removal in these stores. "We also have a pipeline of over 30 innovative products in 2022 and are keen to deeply invest in the brand as well," said Gupta. "We are already clocking 1.5 million shipments a quarter. We see the international channel achieving salience for us in a span of 18-24 months, adding 10-15% to our overall company revenue."

DETAILS:

• Bombay Shaving has raised $21 million (₹160 crore) in a funding round led by India-based hedge fund Malabar Investments with participation from Patni Advisors, Singularity AMC, and other HNIs.
• This round also paved the way for ESOP (employee stock ownership plan) sales for some of its employees and exits for early investors worth ₹45 crore.
• BSC plans to scale operations to ₹500 crore top line with an omnichannel presence in the next two years.
• 65% of the brand's business is generated from online platforms, but the company expects 60% of its revenue to be offline in the future.
• The company is in talks to raise another $40 million (₹300 crore) in a round that's expected to close by March and be the last round before the company's planned IPO, founder and Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Deshpande told Economic Times.
• In March 2021, consumer goods firm Reckitt Benckiser led a ₹45 crore strategic funding round in the business.
• In 2019, the company had also created ₹20 crore of exit for early angels and employees.
• In October 2018 Colgate-Palmolive made an investment of ₹18 crore ($2.6 million), acquiring a 14% stake in the company.