Integrated incubator and accelerator platform Venture Catalysts, has recently invested in Gabbardeals, an omnichannel O2O platform for mobile phones and accessories. The latest funding will allow Gabbardeals to ramp up its operations, expand services and forge new partnerships.
Founded by serial entrepreneur Niraj Raka, and co-founded by Poonam Gugale and Piyush Raka, Gabbardeals aims to transform the billion-dollar unorganised mobile retail space. The company works on a phygital (physical + digital) model that combines the advantages of both offline and online retail, creating a win-win situation for all players – brand, retailer and consumer. Gabbardeals says its USP is that it synergises offline and online retail to offer fast, seamless delivery of products while bringing down the customer acquisition cost for retailers.
Sharing his insights, Niraj Raka, Founder and CEO, Gabbardeals, said, “When customers purchase a phone from an e-commerce platform, it takes at least 24 hours for the phone to get delivered. Taking into account the supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 crisis, the delivery can even get delayed by a few days. Through Gabbardeals, however, customers will get their hands on the brand new phone within two hours. We have made this possible by bridging the gap between online and offline retailers. This way Gabbardeals helps e-commerce platforms to cut down their logistics costs and offline stores to acquire a larger customer base.”
Talking about the investment, he added, “We now have the cash runway to scale our operations, develop technology and achieve sustainable growth.”
Speaking on the investment, Dr Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, Founder, Venture Catalysts, said, “Within a short span of time, Gabbardeals has emerged as a promising player in the mobile retail space. Their omnichannel approach has proven to be effective and profitable, which gives them a winning advantage. This is besides the fact that all the co-founders of Gabbardeals are dynamic leaders and have shown exceptional growth in their own capacities. We are confident that it will fulfil its vision of becoming the fastest-growing omnichannel platform for mobile phones in India and globally.”