Styched enters Footwear and Athleisure

Styched acquires Flatheads and Zymrat to enter footwear and athleisure.

Objective

Two prominent D2C brands in footwear and apparel had scaled well and were now looking for a strategic investor to help solve their working-capital constraints. Flatheads even received an offer on Shark Tank, but declined since it wasn't aligned with what the founder and investors wanted as an ideal deal construct.

Done Deal edge

The buyer was looking to acquire product capability quickly through smaller bolt-on opportunities, but didn't have reliable deal flow to evaluate. They were presented with several opportunities across footwear, athleisure and apparel, and quickly narrowed down on the most promising deals to make offers and close them.

Perspective

The key challenge was that the brands were of relatively small scale — sub-scale for the larger players — and operated in niche, competitive segments. The value was largely tied to strong brand recall in their respective segments, product know-how and customer base.

Solution

The sellers had 20+ conversations with potential buyers through the platform before signing up with a funded startup in the apparel space that was looking to diversify its product offerings.

Outcome

Styched acquired both brands and added them to its portfolio, gaining the brands and product know-how. They expect these acquisitions to help fast-track their own growth and future fundraise.

We eagerly anticipate working closely together to take Zymrat to a global audience and continue towards our larger vision — to redefine athletic wear for athletes around the world.

The technical know-how of Flatheads would really help us create a wide range of affordable sneakers. So while Styched will continue to play in the sub-₹1,000 segment, the semi-premium segment would have Flatheads as the flagship brand.