Big Shoe Bazaar (brand owner of Yebhi.com) Raises INR 100 Cr ($20 Mn) in Series C funding backed by Fidelity, Qualcomm, Nexus Venture Partners and Catamaran

NEW DELHI, India, July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Shoe Bazaar India Pvt Ltd., the leading online wholesale cash and carry company, announced that it has raised INR 100 Cr in Series C round of funding led by Fidelity Growth Partners India and Qualcomm Incorporated, through its venture capital investment arm, Qualcomm Ventures. Existing investors, Nexus Venture Partners and Catamaran also participated. Big Shoe Bazaar is also the brand owner & licensor of Yebhi.com, which is India's fastest growing mass market ecommerce site.

The wholesale cash and carry venture supplies shoes, apparels, lifestyle accessories, jewellery, mobiles, electronics, kitchenware and homeware across a variety of brands from wholesalers to smaller retailers through an online catalogue. This enables the small retailers to access a large number of brands at their doorstep, conveniently, while enjoying healthy margins.

"Big Shoe Bazaar is best positioned and equipped to support the needs of mass market ecommerce sites like Yebhi.com.  Global leaders in the mass market segment were able to take up value-based positions based on very strong back end capabilities.  We believe Big Shoe Bazaar's strengths are unparalleled in the backend," said Raul Rai, Managing Director, Fidelity Growth Partners India.

"The number of Internet users via mobile has already surpassed Internet users via PC, creating a growing opportunity to reach mobile connected consumers with unique shopping experiences. Our investment in Big Shoe Bazaar has come at a time when the rapid rise of smartphones, tablets and social media networks stands to greatly influence the way people engage in online shopping. We are delighted to co-lead this financing round," said Mr. Karthee Madasamy, Senior Director, Qualcomm Ventures, India and Israel.

Elaborating on the growing portfolio of the company, Manmohan Agarwal, CEO, Big Shoe Bazaar India Pvt Ltd. added, "Yebhi.com has pioneered mass market ecommerce in India and has taken significant first mover advantage in this large segment. Big Shoe Bazaar's state of the art fulfilment centre, efficiencies in our supply chain and our logistics network are key to supporting Yebhi.com's customer connect.  Our Series C round of investments will further strengthen these core initiatives."

About Big Shoe Bazaar India Pvt Ltd.

Big Shoe Bazaar India Pvt Ltd. is India's leading online wholesale Cash and Carry company and is the owner/licensor of Yebhi.com. In 2010, the company raised INR 10 Cr ($2 Mn) of Series A funding by Nexus Venture Partners followed by a second round of funding of INR 40 Cr ($8 Mn) in 2011 led by Catamaran Ventures.

Big Shoe Bazaar licenses the brand "Yebhi.com" to India's fastest growing mass market online ecommerce site which offers products across categories like home, lifestyle & fashion, and electronics. Yebhi.com carries a rich mix of quality and variety and has established strong associations with over 400 prominent brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Puma, Reebok, Aiva, 5th Avenue, Rockport, Woodland, Florsheim,  Adidas, Benetton, GAS, Flying Machine, Levi's, S.Oliver, Colorplus, Fastrack, Titan, Timex, Calvino, Guess, Victoria's Secret, Private Structure, B'witch, Enamor, Bajaj, Philips, Rosebys, Welspun, and Karigari among others.

About Fidelity Growth Partners India

Fidelity Growth Partners India (FGPI) is the India-focused private equity arm of Fidelity Worldwide Investment, focused on cross-sector growth capital investing. FGPI seeks to invest in high-quality, high-growth companies in India across a broad range of sectors with typical investment sizes ranging from $10 million to $50 million. FGPI is committed to making the companies it invests in leaders in their industries through access to patient capital with a long term investment mindset, a powerful network of resources and a team of investment professionals with a proven track record of success. Fidelity, Fidelity Worldwide Investment and Fidelity Growth Partners India are trademarks of FIL Limited.

About Qualcomm Ventures

Qualcomm Ventures, the venture investment group of Qualcomm Incorporated, was launched in the United States in November 2000 with an initial US$500 million allocation. Qualcomm Ventures' aim is to support Qualcomm's mission of enabling and fostering 3G and wireless Internet markets through investments in privately owned startup ventures. These investments include companies focusing on wireless communication technologies and products serving consumer, enterprise and vertical markets worldwide. For more information, please visit www.qualcommventures.com.

Qualcomm India

+91-22-670-41441

dkapur@qualcomm.com

Arijit Sengupta,

Director - Strategy and Communications

FGPI

+91-22-6655 4057

Arijit.Sengupta@fil.com

SOURCE Big Shoe Bazaar India Pvt Ltd.