Reliance To Invest $42M For 87.6 Pct. Stake In Fynd

Indian company Reliance Industries revealed that is acquiring a 87.6 percent stake in Fynd for 2.95 billion Indian rupees ($42.33 million).

Founded in 2012, Mumbai-based Fynd helps offline retailers sell their products to consumers directly through its online store, as well as allows them to connect with eCommerce platforms including Amazon India and Flipkart.

Harsh Shah, co-founder of Fynd, told TechCrunch that more than 600 brands including Nike, Raymond, Global Desi, and Being Human, and 9,000 stores are connected through his company’s platform. Reliance Industries owns the country’s biggest physical retail chain Reliance Retail, which has been a customer of Fynd for more than six years.

“Reliance runs a few major brands in the country. 25 of our existing brands are owned by them. Our Fynd Store product has helped their stores plug a lot of sales,” said Shah.

Fynd will continue to operate its existing business with the option to secure an additional 1 billion India rupees ($14 million) by the end of 2021 from Reliance Industries.

“Reliance is taking the majority stake in Fynd, but at the end of the day, for us it is like any other investor coming in. We will still continue to work separately, we have our own independent roadmap, and we have own clients and products that we plan to grow. So things continue as it is,” explained Shah.

He added that Fynd is already profitable on an operating level and expects to be fully profitable in the coming quarters. The company plans to continue to build and scale its existing products, including OpenAPI that allows merchants to list their products on either their own stores or third-party sites, as well as manage their inventories and sales.

And Reliance Industries also plans to to enter the eCommerce business. In addition, Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy more than a quarter stake in Reliance Retail.