Virat Kohli's WROGN Sees 29% Revenue Dip, Clocks ₹243 Cr in FY24

WROGN, the Virat Kohli-backed popular men’s apparel brand is struggling to grow with a marked drop in revenue by over 29% in the fiscal year ending March 2024. This is a shocking revelation given Kohli’s dominance in cricket and his status as one of the top athletes and brand endorsers in the world.

WROGN might have expected Kohli to be a golden ticket for the brand with his huge follower base and stardom. However, the recent financial figures point out the challenges a brand can face even with high-profile endorsements.

What went wrong for WROGN?

WROGN was founded by brother-sister duo Anjana and Vikram Reddy in 2014. It started doing business in apparel, footwear, and accessories among others.

Although the 29% revenue drop for the fashion brand in FY24 could be attributed to multiple factors. With the Indian fashion industry going through rapid transformations WROGN, while trendy, might not have catered to consumer demands. With national and international brands competing in the growing fashion market it has been a tight spot for WROGN.

Also, Kohli as a personal brand, while extremely popular might not have been able to convert to actual sales. A charming sports personality might have failed to resonate with consumers with different apparel choices. This gap between Kohli’s stardom and customers’ expectations could be a crucial factor in WROGN’s declining revenue.

On the expenses front, the cost of materials amounted to 53.6% of the total expenses. It slid to 29% and then steadied at Rs 163.91 crore in FY24. Employee benefits expenses also slipped from 7.5% to Rs 32.26 crore during the same period. Notably, the employee cost also covers ESOP expenses worth Rs 1.96 crore. [Source: Entrackr]

WROGN’s revenue from operations dropped from 29.2% to Rs 243.75 crore during FY24 as compared to Rs 344.3 crore in FY23.  

The company made Rs 21 crore from interest and gain on financial assets which took its overall revenue to Rs 264.8 crore in FY24.

Incidentally, Aditya Birla’s TMRW recently fetched a 16% stake in WROGN at a $105 million valuation by streaming in Rs 125 crore or $15 million. Remarkably, Aditya Birla acquired Bewakoof, a similar brand in December 2022.

WROGN has collected around $90 million from Accel, Flipkart, Virat Kohli, and Sachin Tendulkar since its inception in 2014. In November 2020, Flipkart has invested in WROGN’s Series F round. However, it is also an investor in Hrithik Roshan’s HRX which competes with WROGN.

The booming market of fashion

The fashion sector (apparel, jewelry, footwear, eyewear, and accessories) is the largest sector that attracts a large set of consumers. The fashion industry in the country is booming, with a potential to reach $43.2 billion by 2025. [Source: TheKredible’s D2C report]

However, the revenue drop for WROGN highlights a problem created by multiple possible factors, from fast-changing fashion trends to the craze for investment in the stock markets, etc. It seems Virat Kohli is on a tough pitch in the fashion market.

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