Mumbai-based Moksha Group, which is in the businesCloudtails of distribution of electric appliances alongside some fintech operations, has acquired the strategic assets of retail-tech startup Arzooo for an undisclosed amount. Arzooo had been struggling to stay afloat amid layoffs, funding crunch, and pending payments to sellers and employees.
The group has appointed e-commerce veteran Rehan Shaikh as the co-founder and chief executive officer of Arzooo. Shaikh has previously held senior roles at Clicktech, Cloudtail, and Amazon.
Arzooo is a B2B e-commerce platform that enables small and medium-sized retailers to source a wide range of consumer electronics such as refrigerators, air-conditioners, and televisions at competitive prices, to effectively compete with large retailers and e-commerce giants. The company also provides working capital and access to credit to these retailers.
Founded by former Flipkart employees Khushnud Khan and Rishi Raj Rathore, Arzooo has raised about $90 million over 11 rounds from investors such as Celesta Capital, Trifecta Capital, Alteria Capital, SBI Investment and 3Lines, among others.
After raising a $70-million Series B round in June 2022, it raised another $4.6 million in an extension of that funding round in May last year and has been struggling to raise adequate capital since then. As per Tracxn, the company managed to raise $84,000 in January this year.
Since October last year, the company had laid off a large section of its employees in several rounds. From having 400 employees on its payroll in the second half of 2023, it had about 30 employees earlier this year, as per media reports. The company has also failed to make payments to a large number of its distributor partners and had shut down operations for the first few months of this year.
Arzooo now has a pan-India presence and offers services to over 30,000 retailers across 250 cities. “By providing innovative technology, credit access, and affordable levers like low-cost EMIs, Moksha Group will enable small retailers to strengthen their foothold in an evolving market, helping them compete and grow sustainably,” the companies said in a statement.