Snapdeal has raised $21 million and is planning big this festive season

Snapdeal, which was replaced by Amazon from the second spot of India’s online marketplace, raised $21 million, or Rs 140 crore, from Luxembourg-based Clouse SA and is going to utilise it during the festive season.

As the festive season is going to begin next month, Snapdeal announced that it plans on spending over Rs 200 crore on a 360-degree marketing campaign over the next 60 days.

As per the Registrar of Companies, the latest funding is part of the Series J round announced by the company around six months back.

"The raising of fresh funds at a consistent pre-money valuation, is a reflection of the robust performance of Snapdeal, and its continued focus on building a long-term business, based on strong fundamentals, like best-in-class customer experience and consistent growth in net revenue,” a Snapdeal spokesperson told ET.

In February, Brother Fortune Apparel Pte Ltd, an investment entity that represents several Chinese high net-worth individuals, had invested about Rs 335 crore in Snapdeal.

"There is a huge interest in digital commerce market in India, and investors are keen to back the businesses focused on real performance metrics," the Snapdeal spokesperson told ET.

The funding round was crucial to Snapdeal amid rising competition due to Flipkart and Amazon.

Amazon is also doing everything it can to gain market share in India and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos had announced plans to invest an additional $3 billion in its Indian unit, far more than Snapdeal, which has raised a little under $2 billion till date.