Sara Ali Khan has become an equity partner in The Souled Store, a casual wear and pop-culture apparel brand, besides providing sweat equity to it. “Being an ardent pop-culture lover, and a firm believer that originality and comfort are as important as fashion, I see the brand as a perfect fit to invest in,” says Sara.
She’s not the only actress who has invested in a brand. Many actors and brand ambassadors see that a brand fits with their lifestyle and if they foresee an exponential growth in the brand, they invest in it.
Actors take risks in investing, just as they do in signing movies. “If an actor likes a script, he or she takes a stake in the film or even becomes a producer in it, thereby not just reducing the risk, but showing confidence in the product. It is the same with brands,” point out brand experts.
Katrina Kaif invested Rs 2.02 crores in Nykaa, and Alia Bhatt put in Rs 4.95 crore. “I was familiar with the company’s growing brand equity and market leadership and becoming an investor is the next logical step in sharing the Nykaa vision,” Katrina had said in a statement. While the value went up 10 times during the IPO, it has fallen a bit subsequently.
“Brands are bets. Those who bet on winners win, and those that don’t, lose. Stars with money to invest look for different avenues. Many convert their sweat equity into money. The gain rate depends on how the brand does. Stars today invest in FDs, gold, stocks, cryptos, NFTs, new ventures and in co-promoted brands. These investments are a hedge,” explains Harish Bijoor, Brand Guru and Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
Harish Bijoor, Brand Guru and Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. (By Arrangement)
Recently Samantha too picked up a stake in a brand called SustainKart.
It may be recalled that one of the biggest brand endorsers, Amitabh Bachchan, made the right call in investing in Just Dial and got a 46X increase in his investment when the company launched its IPO after signing him on as a brand ambassador. Salman Khan has a stake in Yatra.com and Sachin Tendulkar invested in Musafir.com. But actresses are taking a lot more risks than their male counterparts.
Due diligence
“Many of these stars are also looking at a buyback option for their shares at a later date, considering the volatile nature of the stock market, which they don’t understand as well as they do the film business.
Stars who were earlier shunning such investments are now even looking at taking stakes in semi start-ups as sweat equity along with a partial payment. “However, we have to do a comprehensive due diligence and consider a lot of things before they take sweat equity or even invest in it at a later date,” says a senior business manager of one of the stars.
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