E-commerce aggregator 10Club nearing bankruptcy

For the past 6 months, vendor payments have stalled and employees face delayed, partial pay

- Shouvik Das & Sneha Shah

E -commerce aggregator 10Club, operated by Boxseat Ventures Pvt Ltd, is close to shutting shop, less than four years after it drew attention by raising $40 million in early-stage money in the highest seed-funding round by an Indian startup.

The Bengaluru-based startup's lack of success in orientating its business model towards stronger target markets and failure to pivot to an alternative strategy in time led to the current state of affairs, four people with direct knowledge of the matter told Mint, seeking anonymity. Over the past six months, payments to multiple vendors have been stalled, while employees have only received delayed and partial salaries, the people said.

The company is now consulting lawyers and its investors, with a consensus emerging towards filing for insolvency with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the people cited above said.

Multiple attempts to reach Bhavna Suresh, 10Club's co-founder and chief executive, including a detailed email seeking comment on 11 March, did not elicit a response.

10Club sought to follow what is globally known as the 'Thrasio' model. One company would consolidate multiple small e-commerce brands and sellers under its umbrella, and then operate them as a single, organized company.