Brands
The Sleep Co flashes Rs 100 crore marketing purse
MUMBAI: The Sleep Co, India’s leading comfort-tech brand, has secured Rs 480 crores in Series D funding from ChrysCapital and 360 ONE Asset, two of the country’s most established private equity firms. The fresh capital will fuel aggressive expansion, manufacturing scale-up and a Rs 100-crore brand-building blitz as the company races to own India’s premium sleep market.
The Mumbai-based firm has hit a Rs 700-crore annual revenue run rate and notched 60 per cent year-on-year growth in FY25, having recently opened its 150th exclusive outlet. Since its last funding round, monthly revenues have doubled and headcount has swelled from 650 to over 1,500 employees—testament to surging demand for its patented SmartGrid technology.
Founded by husband-and-wife duo Priyanka Salot and Harshil Salot, The Sleep Co has morphed from a direct-to-consumer startup into an omnichannel juggernaut. Its offline stores now generate 70 per cent of total revenue through a “research online, purchase offline” strategy that blends digital discovery with immersive retail experiences.
The company’s 150th store doubles as a “Sleep Lab”, featuring pressure and heat mapping tests that pit SmartGrid products against traditional memory foam. Celebrity endorser Anil Kapoor fronts campaigns like “RIP Memory Foam” that position the brand as a lifestyle choice rather than a functional purchase.
The new funding will bankroll expanded manufacturing capacity, deeper penetration in metro and tier-1 cities, entry into adjacent comfort categories, and heavy R&D investment. The company aims to extend SmartGrid technology—originally developed for mattresses—across chairs, recliners, cushions and sofas.
“This fundraise powers the next phase of our journey to lead the comfort-tech revolution in India,” said co-founders Priyanka Salot and Harshil Salot. “We’re scaling faster, opening more stores, expanding capacity and doubling down on innovation to transform how India sits and sleeps.”
ChrysCapital director & consumer sector lead Rajiv Batra said the investment represents “a compelling opportunity to participate in India’s broader premiumisation wave” as consumers gravitate towards science-led, design-first products.
360 One Asset senior fund manager Chetan Naik called The Sleep Co “a category-defining brand” that’s “redefining comfort-tech through patented material innovation and omnichannel excellence.”
The company has previously raised Rs 13.4 crore in pre-Series A, Rs 177 crore in Series B from Premji Invest and Fireside Ventures, and Rs 184 crore in Series C funding. Avendus Capital advised on the latest transaction.
With strong fundamentals and a growing offline footprint, The Sleep Co is positioning itself to ride India’s wellness boom—transforming sleep from a low-involvement purchase into a premium lifestyle decision.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
