Dubai: A Dubai-based investment fund GII is committing a hefty Rs500 million into an Indian men’s personal-care portal, Bombay Shaving Company, as part of plans to build up a portfolio of assets in that country.
GII, or Gulf Islamic Investments, is more known for its luxury projects in London and Paris and, more recently, its higher profile in healthcare assets. The exposure in Bombay Shaving Company is thus quite a departure from its past preferences.
Interactions with GII were always focused on the right things – customer, product experience and team quality.
Look closely and the move into BSC makes solid investment sense. The brand, which started off offering men’s grooming products, expanded its merchandise mix by adding women-focussed lines in 2020. That has paid off, with the latter making up 20 per cent of sales.
Bombay Shaving Company, which sells via marketplaces such as Amazon, is targeting sales of Rs5 billion and also wants to go big on a physical presence. The company was launched in June 2016 by an ex-McKinsey & Co consultant Shantanu Deshpande. Investors who have cottoned on to the brand’s promise include Colgate Palmolive, the FMCG giant and Dettol owner Reckitt, and Malabar Investments, among others. There are a few high networth individuals too who have signed on.
All of which has raised interest among GII’s promoters. “We love the company’s focus on hair removal and personal care as a category,” said Pankaj Gupta, co-founders and co-CEO, Gulf Islamic Investments. “It is a deep market, there is first mover advantage and the company has demonstrated strengths in building innovative products.”
Usage of new funds
Bombay Shaving Company will have an eye on replicating the success of Dollar Shave Club, which was later acquired by Unilever for an estimated $1 billion. The Indian retailer wants to build a presence beyond online and will focus on omnichannel in the next two years, which is where the recent funds from GII and Malabar will be handy.
“We are singularly focused on building a brand that owns hair removal and personal care,” said Deshpande. “As we scale from Rs1.50 billion to Rs5 billion and Rs10 billion, we needed an investor group that could guide us on building an IPO-able company.”
