Mainstreet Marketplace, once a rising star in India’s vibrant sneaker and streetwear scene, is now facing a severe crisis. The startup, which started as a YouTube channel by Vedant Lamba in 2017 and later grew into a major player in the ‘hype-drop’ economy, has seen its operations in Delhi nearly collapse.

Its flagship South Delhi store has closed, along with its warehouse located in Delhi’s Chattarpur shutting shop. This leaves Mainstreet with no physical presence or logistics capability in the capital.

A warehouse visited by Inc42 had zero stock on hand, with just one employee present. “Seven to eight months ago, there used to be three to four employees here, plus a few more in the store. The racks were filled to the brim, with orders coming in every day. But now, everything is gone,” the employee said.

When asked, Lamba confirmed the situation to Inc42. “It’s true that we have shifted our warehouse to Mumbai. We’re facing cash flow problems and were unable to raise money from investors,” he said.

However, he insisted that the startup plans to reopen its store in Delhi. “The area is undergoing redevelopment. Delhi has always been a key market, and it still is. We’re planning to open a new retail location there in the next three to four months,” he added.

According to him, the old warehouse was tied to the previous store, and once that shut down, it made sense to consolidate operations in Mumbai.

Lamba said the team is currently working on a separate B2B studio business to generate cash flow, though he did not disclose further details. But what exactly prompted this dramatic pivot into something altogether different for this once-might sneaker marketplace?

What Happened With The Startup?

At the height of the sneaker mania in 2023, Mainstreet attracted some of the most notable angel investors in India, raising $2 Mn (about INR 16 Cr), following a pre-seed round earlier.

After 2022, it had an enviable list of angels including Zerodha founders Nikhil Kamath and Nithin Kamath, Eternal’s CEO Deepinder Goyal through First Lap LLP, Udaan cofounder Sujeet Kumar, Spotify India MD Amarjit Singh Batra, singer Badshah, comedian Tanmay Bhat and CRED founder Kunal Shah.

Following the funding, Mainstreet Marketplace aimed to scale its operations by hiring a seasoned senior leadership team, increasing its offline retail footprint beyond Delhi and Mumbai.

However, soon after raising funds, the startup began investing heavily in marketing. According to a source close to the management, the startup participated in Zomato’s Zomaland 2024 event soon after raising funding, where celebrities like Badshah collaborated with the startup.

At the time, Mainstreet showcased about 5,000 sneakers, claiming to be the largest marketplace in Asia. However, people familiar with the matter said most of them were supplied by resellers, who were owed money for these shoes. “Mainstreet even bought a few sneakers to showcase at the event, which again cost a lot of money,” said one of the resellers.

Further,........

© Inc42