Mumbai: Kisah Apparels, a homegrown men’s celebration and ethnicwear brand, has raised ₹13 crore in a Pre-Series A funding round to accelerate its offline expansion and strengthen its direct-to-consumer (D2C) operations. The investment round was led by Sagar Daryani, Founder of Wow! Momo, alongside other marquee investors including Apoorv Salarpuria (Salarpuria Investments), Rahul Todi (CEO, Shrachi Group), Vinod Dugar (CEO, RDB Group), and Inflection Point Ventures.
Founded in 2018 by Yash Sarawagi and Yashwi Ladasaria, Kisah started with a marketplace-first strategy and has since evolved into an omnichannel brand. With just two physical retail stores currently operational, the brand aims to roll out three additional stores in key cities as part of its strategic offline push.
“There was a clear roadmap—starting with marketplaces, then D2C, and now offline,” said Yash Sarawagi, Founder and CEO of Kisah Apparels. “E-commerce gave us pan-India reach and deep customer insights, which are now fueling our D2C and offline growth—backed by data, customer pull, and positive cash flow at the company level.”
The brand’s solid traction and data-driven approach have drawn investor confidence. Lead investor Sagar Daryani praised Kisah’s strategic clarity and execution, “Any successful brand today must be rooted in a unique consumer insight and solve a real problem in a large market. Kisah has nailed this for young Indian men who are fashion-forward, budget-conscious, and socially active. Their customer metrics outperform most competitors. Building a profitable D2C brand in fashion is incredibly tough—Kisah has done it exceptionally well.”
He added, “The business has grown from ₹40–45 crore to a run rate of over ₹100 crore, with positive operating cash flow and PAT. That’s phenomenal.”
Kisah’s success is underpinned by its commitment to a robust, insight-led growth model. The brand leverages its internal data ecosystem to inform end-to-end decisions from design and sourcing to supply chain operations and marketing strategies.
“We’ve built a robust data ecosystem that informs everything from design and sourcing to supply chain and sales,” added Sarawagi. “Our recent campaign, ‘Dulhe Ki Toli’ (The Groom’s Brigade), was crafted using insights gathered over the past 4–5 months.”
While online channels have formed the base of Kisah’s success, its upcoming offline stores are expected to enhance customer experience and drive brand loyalty in the ethnicwear category. This hybrid strategy blends the convenience of digital with the tangible in-store experience, offering customers a more immersive and engaging brand journey.
With its newly secured funds, Kisah is poised to strengthen its footprint in India’s rapidly evolving men’s ethnicwear segment, aiming to build a future-ready, scalable, and sustainable fashion brand driven by technology, insights, and consumer needs.
