Indian Teleshopping and Ecommerce Startup Naaptol Online Shopping Pvt. Ltd is in the process of raising INR 1000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO), according to sources close to the development. The e-commerce startup is reportedly working on its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) already.
The proposed IPO could offer a mix of primary and secondary shares, with some existing investors exiting the company. Investors in Naaptol include Mitsui & Co, JP Morgan and venture capital investor New Enterprise Associates.
Naaptol was established in 2008. This was the first TV platform on which product discovery could be made. The online shopping startup sells products through TV channels in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
Since then, it has grown its omnichannel presence through its website and physical retail outlets. In 2018, Naaptol had allocated $1.5 million towards establishing close to 100 stores across the country. It adopted a franchise model to cut down on capital expenditure for offline expansion.
In this IPO, there will be an offer for sale along with a fresh issue. Under the offer for sale, the existing shareholders of the company will sell their stake while the money raised from the fresh issue will be used to strengthen the back-end of this online portal and its other technology development. ICICI Securities and Anand Rathi Investment are acting as backers for this IPO.
The company’s earnings were flat in FY21. Although it managed to post modest profits, it had made losses in FY20. The company’s consolidated revenue stood at INR 318.87 crore in FY20 compared to INR 321.22 crore in FY21. The company had a loss of INR 51.84 crore in FY 2020, while in FY 2021, the company was in a light profit of INR 3.42 crore.
According to Naaptol, more than 470 ‘brands and shops’ are on the platform. The products on its e-commerce platform span across categories, including apparel and footwear, electronics, home and kitchenware, car and bike accessories etc.
