Key Takeaways
- Purple Style Labs raised ₹162.5 Cr across 14 NCD tranches between January and June 2025
- The debt raise follows SEBI's January approval for the company's ₹660 Cr IPO
- FY25 losses jumped 295% to ₹189 Cr due to ESOP-related exceptional items
Purple Style Labs, the parent company of luxury fashion platform Pernia's Pop Up Shop, has raised ₹162.5 Cr (roughly $17 Mn) in debt since receiving SEBI's green light for its IPO in January. The company issued 64,588 non-convertible debentures at ₹25,000 each across 14 tranches between January and June 2025, according to MCA filings accessed by Inc42.
The timing is notable. Companies often shore up their balance sheets before going public, and this debt raise suggests Purple Style Labs is preparing its capital structure ahead of the planned ₹660 Cr fresh issue.
Who invested in the NCD round?
The investor mix spans geographies and profiles. California-based Kairos Ventures led with ₹20 Cr deployed across February and April. Real Capital Financial Services put in ₹15 Cr in January. Texport International, a Mumbai-based textile importer, invested ₹2 Cr in two tranches.
Beyond institutional money, the round drew participation from angel investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. Names on the cap table include Rupendra Periwal, Satyen Jitendra Mamtora, and Andy Iyer Sankaranarayanan. Purple Style Labs did not respond to questions about the funding.
What's the IPO plan?
Purple Style Labs filed its draft red herring prospectus with SEBI in September 2024, seeking to raise ₹660 Cr through a fresh share issue. The regulator issued its observation letter in January 2025. The company also proposed a ₹130 Cr pre-IPO placement in its DRHP.
The use of funds tilts heavily toward physical expansion. Of the fresh issue, ₹363.3 Cr is earmarked for lease liabilities on new and existing experience centres, plus back-end office expansion across India. Another ₹128 Cr will go toward sales and marketing.
That's a significant offline bet for a company that started as an e-commerce play. Luxury fashion in India still depends on touch-and-feel retail, and the budget allocation reflects that reality.
The loss problem
Purple Style Labs reported an FY25 loss of ₹189 Cr, up 295% from ₹47.7 Cr in the prior year. The spike looks alarming until you examine the cause: an exceptional item tied to employee stock options granted during the year. Strip that out, and loss before tax rose 40% year-on-year to ₹65.8 Cr.
Still, 40% growth in operating losses is not immaterial. The question for public market investors will be whether offline expansion and marketing spend translate into revenue growth fast enough to narrow the gap.
Company background and backers
Founded in 2015 by Abhishek Agarwal, Purple Style Labs operates as an omnichannel luxury fashion house. Its brand portfolio includes Pernia's Pop Up Studio & Shop, Wendell Rodricks, and Hemant Trevedi. The platform carries designers like Seema Gujral, Anushree Reddy, Amit Aggarwal, Rohit Gandhi, and Rahul Khanna across wedding, occasion wear, menswear, and accessories.
The company has raised approximately $78.4 Mn to date. Its investor roster reads like a who's who of Indian celebrity capital: Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, designer Masaba Gupta, cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Suryakumar Yadav. Institutional backers include Alchemy Ventures, S Four Capital, Bajaj Holdings and Investment, Minerva Ventures, and SageOne.
Why debt before equity?
Raising debt through NCDs rather than diluting equity before an IPO serves multiple purposes. It avoids setting a pre-IPO valuation that could anchor public market expectations. It provides working capital without changing the cap table. And for existing shareholders, it preserves their stake ahead of what they presumably expect to be a higher public valuation.
The structure also signals confidence. Institutional investors like Kairos Ventures and Real Capital Financial Services are lending money they expect to get back. If they had serious concerns about repayment, they would have negotiated equity conversion rights.
Logicity's Take
For finance teams watching pre-IPO capital structures, this is a textbook debt bridge. Purple Style Labs gets runway without dilution, while investors get fixed returns without the uncertainty of public market pricing. The 295% loss spike looks bad in headlines but washes out once you account for ESOP accounting. The real test comes post-listing: can the company justify a ₹660 Cr fresh issue valuation while burning ₹65 Cr annually before exceptional items? Watch the Grey Market Premium once the IPO date firms up.
Another pre-expansion debt raise in India's luxury retail space
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Pernia's Pop Up Shop parent raise in 2025?
Purple Style Labs raised ₹162.5 Cr (approximately $17 Mn) through 64,588 non-convertible debentures issued across 14 tranches between January and June 2025.
When did SEBI approve the Pernia's Pop Up Shop IPO?
SEBI issued its observation letter to Purple Style Labs in January 2025, following the company's DRHP filing in September 2024.
Why did Purple Style Labs losses increase 295% in FY25?
The loss spike to ₹189 Cr was driven by an exceptional item related to employee stock options granted during the year. Excluding this, loss before tax grew 40% to ₹65.8 Cr.
How will Pernia's Pop Up Shop use IPO proceeds?
Of the ₹660 Cr fresh issue, ₹363.3 Cr is allocated for lease liabilities on experience centres and back-end offices, while ₹128 Cr goes to sales and marketing.
Who are the celebrity investors in Purple Style Labs?
Backers include Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, designer Masaba Gupta, and cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Suryakumar Yadav, alongside institutional investors like Alchemy Ventures and Bajaj Holdings.
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Source: Inc42 Media / Anjali Jain
Manaal Khan
Tech & Innovation Writer
Produced with AI assistance and reviewed by the Logicity editorial team. Learn more in our Editorial Policy.
