Thrasio to invest $500 million in Indian market

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 14, 2022

U.S. business Thrasio, which acquires private brands on Amazon and scales them up, sees significant growth opportunities in India and plans to invest $500 million (Rs 3,326.4 crore) in operations in the country.

Thrasio, which works with over 200 brands globally, has big plans for the Indian market and expects it to contribute double-digit growth within 12 to 24 months, Thrasio’s CEO Carlos Cashman told the Economic Times in an interview.

“I would love to see India growing to 25-50% of what we do ultimately,” said Cashman. “I am looking at this five to 10 years out. So, when you look at the growth rate of different economies and outlook, you can reasonably see that happening.”

Thrasio first entered the Indian market by acquiring consumer durables business Lifelong. As part of the deal, Lifelong’s co-founder Bharat Kalia will be responsible for helming Thrasio’s business operations in the country. This is the first time that Thrasio has chosen a local partner to run its operations outside of the U.S. and chose to do so, due to the country’s different business culture, Cashman told the Economic Times.   
 
The business aims to use its investment over the next few years instead of as a one-time cash injection. Thrasio exceeded a revenue total of $1 billion last year. The business’ main competitors in the Indian market will be Globalbees, backed by SoftBank and Mensa Brands, backed by Falcon Edge which scale up brands in sectors including fashion.