10club, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) startup specializing in home and kitchen products, has appointed Kavitha Rao as its new Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder.

In October last year, the company shifted its focus from being a roll-up commerce company to transforming into a D2C brand. This decision was prompted by a noticeable deceleration in the growth rates of acquired brands within the domestic roll-up industry throughout the past year.

The company currently operates as a single brand, selling its own products through both online and offline channels, such as owned and third-party stores. In contrast, roll-up commerce companies acquire multiple online sellers and brands, often retaining their separate identities, with the aim of enhancing performance through improved management and shared expertise.

10club announced that Rao will lead its retail operations in both online and physical channels, guiding the firm’s category roadmap and overseeing day-to-day operations. Before joining 10club, Rao served as the Managing Director at Accenture’s retail division.

10club’s Retail Expansion Plans:

The company is now targeting the opening of its first physical store in the first half of FY25, as mentioned by Rao. Additionally, it is engaging in partnerships with fellow D2C brands like Wakefit to retail its products in their stores. Simultaneously, it is collaborating with distributors to extend the availability of its products in larger retail outlets such as supermarkets, she further explained.

According to Rao, 10club is on track to achieve an annualized revenue run rate of INR 100 crore by the end of March 2023. She emphasized the firm’s dedication to profitable sales growth, although specific details about the current profitability status were not disclosed.

In June 2022, it was reported that 10club was seeking to secure $30 million in a combination of equity and debt funding. Olive Tree Capital, a Boston-based fund, was leading the funding round, with participation from Fireside Ventures and Secocha Ventures. The company had mentioned back then that the funding round had not been finalized. Rao chose not to comment on the present status of the funding.

Established in 2020 by Bhavna Suresh, Deepak Nair, and Joel Ayala, the company secured $40 million in 2021, marking one of the most substantial seed funding rounds at that time. This funding was a combination of both debt and equity. Initially entering the roll-up sector, the firm operated alongside various players such as Goat Brand Labs, Mensa Brands, and FirstCry-backed GlobalBees, focusing on categories such as fashion, home, fitness, and food.

In addition to indications of a deceleration in the past year, the roll-up sector has witnessed consolidation. Goat Brand Labs, a competitor of Mensa, acquired Chumbak and four other direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in January of the previous year. Furthermore, Hindustan Unilever Limited made investments in Zywie Ventures, the parent company of the plant-based supplement brand Oziva, and Nutritionlab in December 2022.

Roll-up brands have faced challenges not only in India but also globally. In November, The Wall Street Journal disclosed that Thrasio, a U.S.-based company and a trailblazer in roll-up ecommerce, initially known for acquiring third-party sellers on Amazon, was gearing up to file for bankruptcy.

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