From correspondents in Haryana, India, 10:30 PM IST

Genesis Colors Pvt. Ltd., the holding company of designer brands Satya Paul, Deepika Gehani, Samsaara, Shobhaa De’ and the lingerie brand Bwitch, has received an investment of Rs. 110 Crores from Sequoia Capital Fund, Mayfield Fund and Silicon Valley Bank in return for minority stake in the company.

The fund will be utilized to expand retail operations of Satya Paul, which is on a rapid expansion spree in India and overseas, with the first Satya Paul international store opening in Singapore in July 2008. The money will also be used for investments in technology – ERP solutions and a CRM program.

Speaking about the development, Sanjay Kapoor, Joint MD, Genesis Colors, said “we are delighted to have Sequoia Capital, Mayfield Fund and SV Bank as investment partners and we plan to use our partners’ relationships and strategic inputs to expand the retail network of Satya Paul and cement the growth of the luxury brands business footprints in India.” Adding on he said,” At present we have 27 stand alone Satya Paul stores, we plan to take the tally to 50 by 2010. We will use this investment for setting up a state of the art digital printing unit to service our requirement. We also plan an IPO in the next 3 years, once we have built critical mass”

Elaborating further, Kapoor disclosed that plans include to promote the newly formed entity ‘Genesis Luxury’ to market and distribute European luxury brands – Canali, Kenzo, Paul Smith, Just Cavalli and Aigner within India. The funds will also be used for marketing and creating an extensive retail and distribution network for the lingerie label Bwitch. According to Jyoti Narula, Joint MD, GCPL, “ Bwitch is India’s very own premium lingerie brand catering to the urban and upwardly mobile Indian woman. We plan to spend about 25 crores in brand building, marketing and distribution of Bwitch.”

According to Naresh Malhotra, Operating Partner of Sequoia Capital, "We are very excited to partner with Genesis Colors - one of the largest branded players in the premium end of the market. We believe that the team at Genesis is well positioned to ride the growth in rising affluence, with products that fit in to the growing desire of consumers to buy and experience superior brands."

Vikram Godse, Managing Director of Mayfield Advisors, who will be joining the board of directors said, “Having known the company for the past couple of years, and having worked with this team closely in the past, we are excited to be investing in, what we consider, India’s premier fashion brand in women’s apparel. We are looking forward to working with the Satya Paul team and helping them grow their business to achieve their fullest potential”.

Source: Press Release Distribution via India PRwire