Craftsvilla.com Receives Funding from Nexus Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Craftsvilla.com today announced it has received early-stage funding from leading venture capital firms Nexus Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners.  The investment will allow the e-commerce retailer to expand its business multi-fold by investing in personnel, technology, back-end supply chain and sourcing of a larger variety of products across India.

Craftsvilla.com, wholly owned by Kribha Handicrafts Pvt. Ltd., has quickly become the largest handcraft product store online in India.  Featuring artisan-produced apparel, metalware, jewelry and home furnishings from around the world, Craftsvilla offers high-quality products for every season, every person and every room in the home.  Its product offering also includes the largest selection of organic apparel, natural handmade soaps, religious products, natural & organic food and more.

"Craftsvilla.com has established a strong customer base in India for discerning customers seeking unique and distinctive products that are not available in their neighborhoods.  This new funding will help us build further a strong team and backend technology," said Tirath Kamdar, co-founder.  "We welcome the support of Lightspeed Venture Partners and Nexus Venture Partners as we take these next important steps in our corporate growth."

Craftsvilla is dedicated to preserving the traditions of craftsmanship, creativity and culture in its product offerings.  Every item is selected for its authentic expression of the artist's unique vision.  Natural dyes, the very best raw materials (including organic wherever possible), minimal use of chemicals, and multiple quality checks all distinguish Craftsvilla products from those of ordinary merchants.  

"Discerning shoppers continue to be an attractive market in the U.S. and elsewhere.  In a world of mass-produced goods, there is a strong demand for high-quality, individually crafted products," said Sandeep Singhal of Nexus.  Bejul Somaia of Lightspeed Advisory Services India Pvt Ltd added, "Our investment in Craftsvilla reflects our confidence in the team's vision of leveraging the Internet to open up new markets for the artisan community while providing consumers with an experience to discover unique products."

Craftsvilla practices best in class IT implementations and is India's first online wholesaler to use SAP hosted on cloud.  "This move will enable us to provide state of the art automation, complete transparency, and a great experience right from the Web store to the warehouse and on to the customer," said Bhavik Jhaveri, co-founder and CTO.

About Craftsvilla:

Craftsvilla (www.craftsvilla.com) is the largest handcraft product store online in India.  Focused on the traditions that nourish mind, body and soul, Craftsvilla's products takes shoppers to a new world in the past, where handcrafted and greencrafted products were a way of life—not just a fashion statement.  Featuring products from around the world, Craftsvilla sells apparel, bags, jewelry, home furnishings, health & beauty, accessories, designer products and much more.  Craftsvilla is funded by global investors Nexus Venture Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners and is wholly owned by Kribha Handicrafts Pvt. Ltd.

SOURCE Craftsvilla