Venturi Partners, a growth equity firm specialising in consumer investments across India and Southeast Asia, has picked up an undisclosed minority stake in the Indian affordable footwear brand JQR (Just Quick Run) for $25 million.
JQR’s first venture capital funding would be used to further expand its offline presence to new markets as well as launch its online channel, and further enhance its product offerings to meet India’s rising demand for affordable, high-quality sneakers.
“The footwear industry is seeing strong support from government policies, and we believe there is a significant gap in the price segment that JQR operates in. India’s consumer market continues to have a dearth of high-quality, affordable brands, and our mission at Venturi is to identify and scale such businesses across categories,” said Rishika Chandan, Managing Director, Venturi Partners.
There are 427 footwear Indian startups including old and new players Campus Shoes, Campus, Wildcraft, Flatheads, Aqualite, and Neeman’s. Out of these, 32 are funded, with 23 having secured Series A+ funding, according to Tracxn.
Recently, D2C footwear startup Yoho raised Rs 27 crore in a funding round led by Gulf Islamic Investments (GII), a global alternative investment firm, while footwear startup CHK bagged capital from Accel as part of its seed funding round, which drove its overall investment to $2.5 million.
Venturi Partners was founded in 2019 by veteran consumer investor Nicholas Cator. Backed by investors such as Frederic De Mevius, Peugeot Invest, Ackermans & Van Haaren and Quaestor, the firm provides growth funding to customer-centric, purpose-driven brands in India and Southeast Asia, with a focus on education, healthcare, and fast-moving consumer goods.
This investment is part of Venturi Partners’ strategy to back brands across sectors such as retail, education, healthcare, and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). Its other portfolio companies includes Livspace, Country Delight, Believe, Pickup Coffee, DALI, and K-12 Techno.
