2024-11-04 14:01:46 :
Glasper Global Pvt. The parent company of Skillmatics, a maker of new-age educational toys and games, will consider listing its shares in India within the next 2-3 years, co-founder and CEO Dhvanil Seth said in an interview. Mint.
Seth added that Peak XV-backed companies are also exploring newer categories such as adult games, family games and nursery games.
“We are getting closer to the IPO (initial public offering) event. The timeline has not been determined yet. This will happen in the next two to three years. We will look at listing in India,” Seth said.
The co-founder said that the company is already profitable and does not need more funds to grow, and an IPO would be an ideal outcome.
Founded in 2017, Skillmatics sells products in the United States, United Kingdom, other European markets and the Middle East. “We are now the largest single seller of toys in the U.S. market, with more than 75 percent of our total revenue coming from there,” said Seth, who is also a certified public accountant.
He added that the India business is currently growing at 155% annually and could account for 30% of total revenue in the next five years. India currently contributes about 12-13% of the revenue.
“The Indian business is growing at a faster pace. We believe the growth momentum here has begun to be released. We will continue to grow steadily in the United States and are also exploring how to deepen our presence in the European market.” Seth said.
Factors such as the ‘Make in India’ programme, restrictions on imports, rising disposable income and awareness about educational toys are helping companies like Skillmatics scale rapidly in the Indian market.
“We have been seeing steady growth and revenue will likely reach $5 billion by 2024,” he added.
The company’s revenue is $2.9 billion in 2023.
The company started as an online seller and has expanded offline over the past 18-24 months. According to Seth, the company sells its products through 20,000 retail stores in the United States.
The company is part of Sequoia Capital’s Surge program for early-stage companies. Later, Sequoia Capital India (now Peak XV) invested in it from its venture fund.
Skillmatics last raised $16 million in Series B funding in 2022, led by Sofina Ventures.
adult games
The company is a full-stack, direct-to-consumer brand of educational products and children’s games. It plans to enter newer categories such as games for the 16-35 age group.
“We have observed that adults are increasingly using games as part of their social interactions and we are betting big on this category. It is the largest single category globally. We will also look at introducing children’s products into homes and nurseries , we think this adjacency will be beneficial,” Seth added.
Seth said that in addition to organic growth, the company has a lot of cash on its balance sheet and will likely explore inorganic growth plans. “We are keen on doing some acquisitions in the US and India. We can fund them with the capital available on our balance sheet,” he added.
A research report from Grand View Research shows that the global toys and games market is estimated to be US$324.66 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.3% from 2024 to 2030.
“The toy and games industry is expanding due to a variety of factors, such as increased parental interest in green toys, a resurgence in traditional toys and video games, awareness of the cognitive benefits of construction toys, and the growing popularity of mobile gaming,” the report stated.
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