The Thrasio mannequin that failed the Indian take a look at. The failure of the Good Glamm Group might not mark the tip of D2C in India, nevertheless it does elevate essential questions on scale, sustainability, and execution.
In a sobering LinkedIn put up, Darpan Sanghvi, CEO and co-founder of The Good Glamm Group, acknowledged what trade insiders had been whispering for months—India’s once-celebrated content-to-commerce startup has crumbled below its personal weight.
The corporate, which rose to prominence by buying a set of shopper manufacturers like The Mothers Co, Natural Harvest, and Sirona, alongside digital media platforms akin to MissMalini and ScoopWhoop, is now present process a restructuring train. In keeping with Sanghvi, the lenders have determined to implement their cost on particular person manufacturers, marking a proper finish to the group’s formidable consolidation technique.
The cracks beneath the glam
The indicators of hassle had begun surfacing earlier this 12 months. As per trade estimates, Good Glamm’s debt now stands at ₹250 crore. Whereas the corporate explored a number of avenues—partial model gross sales, refinancing, and contemporary investments to maintain the conglomerate intact—the efforts proved inadequate.
In keeping with a number of media sources, a few of the acquired manufacturers could also be repurchased by their unique founders at a considerably decrease valuation. Sirona, for example, was purchased again for near ₹200 crore—lower than half of the ₹450 crore Good Glamm had reportedly paid throughout its acquisition spree.
But, past the steadiness sheet and headlines lies a broader cautionary story concerning the “Home of Manufacturers” mannequin in India.
The collapse of the Good Glamm Group is emblematic of a bigger pattern—the battle of Thrasio-style model aggregation within the Indian market. Impressed by US-based Thrasio—which itself filed for chapter final 12 months—a number of Indian startups like Mensa Manufacturers, GlobalBees, TMRW, and others tried to copy the mannequin by buying digital-first D2C manufacturers and scaling them utilizing centralised advertising, operations, and distribution.
“When this mannequin entered India, there was plenty of capital chasing new concepts,” says Satish Meena from Datum Intelligence. “Traders believed India was a brand-deficient market and aggregators may scale manufacturers effectively. However constructing a model in India is dear as a result of excessive diploma of customisation wanted. With out steady capital influx, many manufacturers stagnated.”
These aggregators paid steep valuations, hoping to optimise operations and advertising to scale manufacturers swiftly. However funding dried up earlier than these efficiencies may very well be realized.
The D2C dilemma
In India’s aggressive magnificence and private care panorama, prospects are open to experimentation however not often exhibit model loyalty until there’s one thing actually distinctive on supply. And for many of Good Glamm’s manufacturers, differentiation was missing.
“The idea was that efficiency advertising can be the key sauce,” says Meena. “However with little capital and even much less time, execution faltered. Mensa, for example, deliberate an IPO however needed to shelve it resulting from funding delays and enterprise instability.”
That stated, Meena nonetheless sees potential in India’s D2C ecosystem.
“India stays a brand-deficient market,” he notes. “However newness alone gained’t reduce it. D2C manufacturers should stand out in pricing, packaging, innovation, or distribution. If they will’t retain prospects, they’ll bleed cash in buying them.”
The failure of the Good Glamm Group doesn’t mark the tip of D2C in India, nevertheless it does elevate essential questions on scale, sustainability, and execution.
