Thrasio has divested its stake in D2C consumer durables brand Lifelong Online. The US-based rollup ecommerce pioneer had entered the Indian market with Rs 3,750 crore plan and Lifelong’s acquisition. However, Thrasio will continue to be an active investor and a strategic partner of the consumer goods firm, a statement said.

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As per the company, its founders — Atul Raheja, Bharat Kalia and Varun Grover have collectively acquired majority ownership and control in Lifelong. Existing investors, Tanglin Venture Partners and Hero Enterprise Partner Ventures, have also increased their ownership in the startup.

Over the past year, Lifelong and Thrasio have leveraged their expertise to tap into the unique market opportunity that India presents, a statement added. The company said it will continue to expand its product portfolio by foraying into new and different categories in the coming year.

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"India presents an incredible opportunity for us, and we believe that with our combined expertise, we can make a significant impact in the market. One thing that will remain unchanged is the strong commercial and strategic partnership between Lifelong and Thrasio," a Lifelong spokesperson told CNBC-TV18.

The news comes at a time when Amazon "aggregators" like Thrasio, Razor, Perch and many others that raised over $16 billion, mostly in debt, are struggling as demand for their businesses cools and interest rates rise.

With e-commerce slowing, the company conducted a round of layoffs which impacted 25 percent of its employees and endured a period of turnover among its executive ranks. The company in May 2022 announced a change in its leadership after Carlos Cashman, one of the co-founders of the company, stepped down from the post. Greg Greeley, a former president of Airbnb and a longtime Amazon executive, took on the role of CEO in August 2022.

The layoffs and new CEO appointment underscored some of the challenges in the aggregator business model. As per reports, in a memo to employees, Cashman and Thrasio president Danny Boockvar wrote that in order to keep Thrasio on its trajectory, the company would need to make certain “strategic and operational changes."

Thrasio even paused acquisitions for the first half of 2022. And like the US-based rollup ecommerce pioneer, e-commerce rollups in India — have also contended with shoring up their businesses ahead of a potential recession. Their business is getting tested after a year which saw more than $700 million being racked up by half a dozen Thrasio-style brand aggregators.

While Mensa Brands, Goat Brand Labs and Globalbees have managed to keep the pot boiling, smaller players such as Upscalio, Goat, 10Club, Powerhouse91, Evenflow and Bzaar are struggling and are even exploring a sale of their business. As per reports, 10Club and Upscalio were looking for a potential takeover, however the companies denied. Infact, Upscalio also joined the growing list of startups that conducted layoffs. The company laid-off 15 percent of its employees, Ankur Singh, Head of People and Culture at UpScalio told CNBC-TV18.

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First Published:May 18, 2023 5:24 PM IST