Blissclub, a Bengaluru-based fashion apparel startup, reportedly laid off around 21 employees, or 18% of its workforce, in the second week of January, according to sources.
According to sources, during a town hall meeting on January 11, the startup’s founder and CEO, Minu Margeret, notified the employees of the decision to lay off 21 employees as part of a restructuring effort.
Nonetheless, multiple sources indicated that the number of employees impacted by the restructuring could potentially reach as high as 30.
“In the town hall, Margaret said the restructuring exercise was a pure business decision to move forward. Post this, impacted employees received invites for meetings within 10 minutes. They were informed about the layoffs in these meetings with their respective team heads,” one of the sources said.
The sources added that employees were instructed to voluntarily resign, or else face termination of their services.
Teams across various verticals, such as sales, marketing, growth, and product, were affected by the layoffs. However, the creative team suffered the most significant blow as it was entirely disbanded.
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The startup is paying a severance package of two months’ salary to the impacted employees.
Confirming the restructuring exercise, Margaret, said, “We had a one time restructuring done in Jan 2024 which impacted 21 employees of Blissclub. Come 2024, with some changes in strategy, our new direction meant these roles were impacted. In December 2023 we had our highest ever month in terms of topline for Blissclub.”
According to sources, the primary reason for the layoffs was the startup’s inability to raise fresh capital amid high cash burn. Blissclub last raised $15 million in its Series A funding round from Eight Road Ventures and Elevation Capital in May 2022.
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Established in 2020, Blissclub initially operated as an online platform specializing in activewear products for women. Over time, it diversified its product offerings and ventured into opening several brick-and-mortar stores.
The company’s net loss surged 305.6% to INR 35.7 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 8.89 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue jumped 361.4% to INR 68.3 Cr from INR 14.8 Cr in FY22.
Meanwhile, total expenditure saw a significant increase, growing by 354% to INR 107.8 Cr from INR 23.7 Cr in FY22.
Following the layoffs, Blissclub has become another addition to the expanding roster of Indian startups engaging in restructuring efforts to reduce costs amid the funding downturn that began in 2022. Reports indicate that Indian startups have collectively laid off more than 34.7K employees since the start of 2022.
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