335bazaar, a new hybrid ecommerce model that combines online and offline shopping experiences, has received seed funding from Village Global, the venture fund backed by some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, including Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Reid Hoffman.
Founded in 2020, 335bazaar is building what it calls ‘the future of commerce in India’. The model converts unorganised lifestyle stores into 335bazaar experience centres. Taponeel Mukherjee, Co-founder, 335bazaar says, “Our vision is to offer a billion Indians a great shopping experience through the seamless interaction of the online and offline worlds.”
The business has two main pillars: 335bazaar experience centres that offer a mall-like experience to Indian consumers at affordable pricing along with social commerce via live streams that use technology to offer live deals, group shopping and entertainment.
The company has launched two experience centres: in Bhogal (South Delhi) and in Madhu Vihar (East Delhi). The company plans to open 100 stores in the next six months across all neighbourhood markets in Delhi.
“We believe that 335bazaar is the future of Indian commerce, and we have partnered with the best investors from Silicon Valley to build on our vision”, Poornima Vardhan, Co-founder, 335bazaar says.
“Village is thrilled to back Poornima and Taponeel and to support 335bazaar’s vision in building a new type of retail experience in India. We were impressed by the team’s background and grit, and are excited to see the early success of their stores to date” said Lucas Bagno, Investment Team, Village Global.
