New Delhi: Youshine, a specialty retail store, has raised 2.5 crore from two high net worth individuals from Switzerland. Founded by husband-wife duo, Ashish Sood and Monika Pal Sood, in October 2009 with a single location in Gurgaon, it has currently presence in Delhi-NCR and Punjab.

MM Retail is the parent company that is owned and operated by Ashish and Monika Pal Sood. Monika is a fashion designer and has previously ran a successful apparel export business. Ashish is a serial entrepreneur and holds an MBA from IMD, Switzerland, and B.Com from Delhi University. Prior to founding Youshine, he was the director at TrekSta India and Shardha Outdoor Equipments.

Commenting on the interest of the investors in the company, Ashish says, “They want to be part of the India growth story and were looking to invest in the country. The fact that we knew each other, as part of the same MBA class, helped them take the decision in our favor.”

Youshine currently employees more than 22 people and plans to use the fund for Pan-India expansion of physical locations via franchise model and online presence via their own e-commerce portal and third party portals. Ashish adds, “Our target group is the city dwelling girl, tween, teen and young lady who aspires to complement her everyday western-style wardrobe with trendy yet affordable fashion jewelry and accessories.”

Commenting on competition, Ashish says, “Accessorize, Claire’s, Miss Jo’s can be classified as competition. However we are different as we are quicker to market and more affordable than these players.”