Acquisition · Commerce & Consumer Brands

Reliance Retail acquires Zivame for $16 Mn

By Startup Enthusiast · 13 March 2026

What they do

Zivame is a direct-to-consumer lingerie brand founded in 2011

Reliance Retail acquired the company in 2020 for around $16 million

The acquisition gave Zivame access to Reliance's retail infrastructure and supply chains

Zivame was founded in 2011 by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar as a direct-to-consumer lingerie brand.
It started as a marketplace stocking brands like Enamor, Amante, and Jockey.
In 2013, Zivame began its own private labels designed for Indian body types.
By 2016, in-house brands became central to its business.
The first physical store opened in 2015.
As of the article date, Zivame operates more than 170 stores across India.
Reliance Retail acquired Zivame in 2020 for around $16 million.

The acquisition gave Zivame access to Reliance's retail infrastructure and supply chains.
It also reduced Zivame's capital constraints.
India's organised lingerie market is estimated at over $6-7 billion.

Zivame sells private-label products including bras, sleepwear, shapewear, and athleisure.
Its stores are located in malls and high-street retail districts.
Stores function as both sales and educational spaces with fitting advice.
Zivame has a proprietary digital sizing tool called Fitcode that asks 10 questions and suggests a bra size without measurements.
Current channel mix includes own stores, dot-com, all marketplaces, and Reliance counters.
Most profitable outlets are in high-footfall malls in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.
Expansion focus is on tier-II and tier-III cities via a franchise model.