Good Glamm Group to cease as a house of brands, sell all assets individually: CEO

Darpan Sanghvi- CEO -The Good Glamm Group

Content-to-commerce conglomerate The Good Glamm Group (GGG) is dismantling its unified house-of-brands model, CEO Darpan Sanghvi said on July 23 in a public note, citing deepening financial stress and unsuccessful restructuring attempts.

“Our lenders have decided to enforce their charge on the individual brands under the Good Glamm Group,” Sanghvi wrote.

“What this means is that there will no longer be a group-wide solution which will allow all the brands to continue under a single umbrella. Instead, the brands will be sold one by one, and will operate individually… there will be new individual owners for each of the different brands.”

The note comes at a time when the Prosus and Warburg Pincus-backed company has been attempting to negotiate a down round with Gujarat-based Veloce Fintech since past few months.

Moneycontrol was the first to report on the troubles brewing at the group in October last year, with the management putting three of its brands on sale amid rising debt. Once valued at over $1 billion, GGG has been struggling under the weight of its high cash burn and debt obligations to lenders including Stride Ventures, Trifecta, Alteria Capital, Oxyzo, and credit lines from HDFC and HSBC.

While Sirona's founders have bought back the women's wellness brand from the Group in a distress sale, ScoopWhoop was offloaded for just Rs 18-20 crore, which is a fraction of its 2021 valuation. GGG has been in advanced talks to sell its media and influencer subsidiary Miss Malini to Creativefuel for Rs 4 crore. The firm had acquired Miss Malini in 2021 for Rs 70–80 crore.

Several restructuring discussions underway with lenders: Good Glamm’s Darpan Sanghvi

The firm had also looped in Arjun Vaidyanathan, former Group Head - Transformation at One 97 Communications, to help tighten financial oversight and enforce spending discipline at the beauty and personal care company.

Taking Responsibility 

In the three-part note, Sanghvi took full responsibility for the collapse of the group's strategy.

“Is this what I hoped for? No. Is this unexpected? To be honest, also No. Is this the right of the lenders? Yes. And as the founder, this is on me,” he said. “The decisions, the choices that didn’t work, the risks that didn’t pay off… I understand, just saying ‘I’m sorry’ is not enough. I take responsibility, and responsibility isn’t just about reflection; it has to be about commitment.”

He confirmed that over the next few months, individual brand sales will move forward, and he is working with buyers to place existing employees and resolve dues.

Personal pledge to employees, vendors and shareholders

Sanghvi has made a personal commitment to use his future earnings to help settle unpaid dues.

“If the lenders are unable to complete a sale… and we are unable to clear any portion of the employee dues, then I am giving a personal commitment… that moving forward 25 percent of what I earn (post-tax) from salary or gains from equity in any venture, will go toward making you whole.”

He also committed to setting up a Good Glamm Restitution Fund within the next 60 days, which will receive equity allocation from his next venture. “That will go towards settling any dues that may remain outstanding for our vendors/partners and for losses incurred by our shareholders.”

The Distress

Founded by Darpan Sanghvi, Priyanka Gill, and Naiyya Saggi, Good Glamm Group had raised over $250 million from investors like Prosus, Warburg Pincus, and Bessemer Venture Partners. At its peak in 2021, Good Glamm Group was valued at $1.26 billion and operated under three verticals:  The Good Brands Co comprising beauty and personal care brands (in-house and acquired) such as MyGlamm, St. Botanica, Sirona, BabyChakra, The Moms Co, and Organic Harvest; The Good Media Co which included POPxo, ScoopWhoop, Miss Malini, BabyChakra, and Tweak India.

The Good Creator Co serves as an influencer platform alongside The Good Community. However, as cost structures grew and collections faltered, the company reportedly delayed vendor payments for over a year and paused several expansion plans.

I never did a secondary, never sold a single share: CEO 

Sanghvi reflected on the journey since launching MyGlamm in 2017 and the emotional toll of the group’s unraveling.

“Good Glamm was my everything... I believed in it so deeply that I never did a secondary, never sold a single share. I was convinced we would build this towards one of India’s most celebrated IPOs. But today, that fear, that dread, has become my reality.”

He ended the note by reaching out to fellow founders and employees. “It is my moral responsibility to resolve this for every past and present employee, and for every stakeholder, whether it’s our lenders, vendors, or our equity shareholders, and set things right.”