Licious expands offline presence, plans to open 25 stores in FY25

*This article is adapted from *Business Standard

After establishing itself as a leader in the online meat and seafood market, Licious, a direct-to-consumer (D2C) unicorn, is now shifting its focus to offline expansion. The Bengaluru-based company plans to open 25 offline stores by the end of the current financial year 2024-25, co-founders Vivek Gupta and Abhay Hanjura told The Financial Express (FE). Most of its initial stores will be based in Bengaluru and once the model proves profitable, Licious aims to accelerate its expansion, opening 70 to 100 stores annually.

Licious currently operates only one offline store and plans to open its second by the end of this month, both in Bengaluru. While the company has experimented with experience stores that offer food, the focus will remain on meat stores, where consumers can purchase customised meat and seafood. This decision is based on the positive response to the meat store format compared to the experience stores.

Online sales will continue to dominate Licious: Hanjura

Despite the offline push, Licious remains committed to its online platform, where over 80 per cent of its sales occur. The remaining sales come from marketplaces and quick commerce platforms. Notably, 90 per cent of Licious’ business comes from repeat customers, highlighting strong customer loyalty.

Licious founder Hanjura emphasised that while online sales will continue to dominate in the near term, offline channels will become increasingly significant in the next five years. The company’s vision is to create an omnichannel presence, catering to consumers who prefer in-person purchases while also building trust to encourage online shopping. “The future in this category is omnichannel,” Hanjura told FE.

Licious explores acquisitions

Licious plans to first establish a strong offline presence in Bengaluru before expanding to cities like Chennai and Mumbai. The company’s offline strategy is focused on steady, consumer-experience-driven growth rather than rapid expansion. As part of this strategy, Licious is exploring acquisitions of smaller offline meat chains that are profitable but lack the capital to expand. Discussions are ongoing, but no deals have been finalised yet.

Licious IPO prep and plans for profitability

As Licious aims for profitability and greater scale, offline expansion has become a key focus area. The company reported an annual run rate (ARR) of Rs 950 crore as of June 2024, up from Rs 770 crore in June 2023. Licious targets an ARR of Rs 1,200 crore and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) profitability by the end of FY25.

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Licious, backed by investors like Temasek, Multiples, and 3one4 Capital, raised $150 million in March 2022 in an extended Series F-round led by Amansa Capital. With plans to launch over 500 stores across 20 cities in the next five years, Licious is also gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) within the next 24 months as it intensifies its talent acquisition efforts and works towards achieving operating profit by the end of FY25.

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