Luggage brand Uppercase receives US$9m from Accel
Venture capital firm Accel has invested US$9 million in Uppercase, a luggage maker. The investment nearly doubles Uppercase's valuation to US$60 million.
Transaction snapshot
Deal value: US$9 million
Deal multiples: N/A
Deal type: Investment
Investors: Accel
Uppercase plans to use the funds for expansion. The company aims to open new retail stores in India, Europe, and the Middle East by next year.
Sudip Ghose, cofounder and managing director of Uppercase, said the investment will help create a global brand. The funds will be used to develop the retail side of the Indian business and build a back-end supply chain for global expansion.
Uppercase currently sells its travel gear online and through 1,800 multi-brand stores across India. The company plans to open 10 exclusive retail stores in cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Ahmedabad and Kolkata by next month. It aims to have 50 such outlets by March 2025.
About 60% of Uppercase's sales come from offline channels, with the rest generated online. The company targets to more than double its revenue to Rs 150 crore by the end of this fiscal year, up from Rs 70 crore last year.
Uppercase's products are priced between Rs 3,500-5,000. The company designs and manufactures all its products domestically. It plans to open its own manufacturing facility in Nashik by December, moving away from contract manufacturers.
Barath Shankar Subramanian, partner at Accel, praised Uppercase's commitment to sustainability and its eco-friendly approach to travel gear.
This investment highlights growing investor interest in new-age consumer retail brands. In the luggage sector, direct-to-consumer brand Mokobara raised $12 million earlier this year in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners. In March, Safari Industries received a Rs 229 crore investment from Lighthouse Funds.
