Striders Impex IPO Review

Live status (1 Jul 2026): This one was a weak IPO from start to finish. It was undersubscribed at just 0.93x, the grey market premium sat at zero the whole time, and it listed on 6 March 2026 at about Rs 70, a small discount to the Rs 72 issue price. It briefly spiked towards Rs 82 after listing but then fell hard, and now trades around Rs 56, roughly 22% below where IPO investors bought in.

About the Company

Walk through a mall arcade or a toy aisle and you will see licensed characters on plush toys, stationery, school bags and water bottles. Striders Impex is one of the companies that brings that kind of licensed kids merchandise to Indian shelves.

Set up only in 2021, Striders is in the business of licensing global brands, developing its own labels, and distributing toys and children's consumer products. It offers what it calls an end to end service, from product design and sourcing to manufacturing and distribution, selling licensed merchandise, plush toys, novelties, stationery, activity sets, school bags, water bottles and lunch boxes. It supplies premium retail chains such as Timezone and Landmark, and also sells online.

It runs an asset light model, meaning it does not own heavy factories and instead manages design, sourcing and distribution, with just 36 employees. It has a presence in the Middle East too, through a wholly owned subsidiary in the UAE. You can follow its live price and financial updates on the IPO GMP Live homepage. In short, it is a young, small brand and distribution business in the kids products space.

Financial Snapshot

The recent trend is the problem. FY25 was a strong year, with revenue rising from Rs 42 crore in FY24 to Rs 62 crore, and net profit almost doubling from Rs 4.39 crore to Rs 8.41 crore. That good year is what the IPO was sold on.

But the nine months to December 2025 tell a softer story. Revenue was Rs 50 crore and profit only Rs 4.01 crore, which annualises to well below the FY25 figure. In other words, profit looks to be falling, not growing, and the margin has slipped from around 14% to about 8%. For a company that had just gone public on the back of a big FY25, that is a disappointing turn.

On valuation, the stock looks cheap at first glance, around 12 times last year's earnings at the current price. But that uses the peak FY25 profit. On the weaker current run rate the multiple is closer to 18 to 19 times, so it is not the bargain it appears. The market cap is now about Rs 104 crore at the current price, not the higher figure calculated at the issue price. Put simply, the one strong year may have been the high point, and the numbers since have gone the wrong way, which is exactly what the falling share price reflects.

Strengths

The most genuine positive is the asset light model. Striders does not tie up capital in big factories, instead focusing on licensing, design, sourcing and distribution, which keeps the business flexible. It has licensing tie ups with global brands and supplies recognised premium retail chains like Timezone and Landmark, which gives it some credibility with buyers.

FY25 also showed the business can grow quickly when things click, with revenue up nearly 50% and profit almost doubling that year. It has a foothold in the Middle East through its UAE subsidiary, giving it a route beyond India, and the kids and licensed merchandise category itself has steady long term demand as spending on children's products grows.

Risks

The clearest concern is that profit is now declining. After a strong FY25, the nine month FY26 numbers point to lower full year profit and thinner margins, which undermines the growth story the IPO was built on. On top of that, the IPO itself was weak, undersubscribed with zero grey market interest and a discount listing, and the stock is already well below its issue price, so the market was sceptical from the outset.

The rest of the picture adds to the caution. The company is very young, incorporated only in 2021, with just 36 employees and a short track record. Its model depends on licensing partnerships, which can be lost or not renewed, in a competitive toys and merchandise market. A meaningful chunk of the IPO money, roughly Rs 11 crore, is going into UAE subsidiaries, so there is overseas expansion risk. And as a small, thinly traded SME, the stock is volatile, as the swing from Rs 82 down to Rs 49 already shows.

Should You Buy, Hold, or Sell?

The IPO is done and it has been a poor one, listed at a discount and now around Rs 56, well below the Rs 72 issue price. This is a call on a small, young company whose profit has started to slip.

Conservative investors should avoid it. Falling profit, a discount listing and a very short track record are not the ingredients for a safe holding.

Moderate investors are better off skipping too, or at most waiting to see whether the full year FY26 numbers stabilise before considering it. There is no clear reason to step in while profit is heading down.

Aggressive investors could look at it only as a high risk, speculative bet that the asset light model and UAE expansion revive growth. Even then, the weak demand and falling margins argue for patience over conviction.

My honest read is that FY25 may have been the peak, the IPO signalled weak interest, and the recent numbers have gone the wrong way. Until profit steadies and grows again, there is little reason to chase this one.

IPO Objects of the Issue

The issue was a mix of a fresh issue of about Rs 30.8 crore and a small offer for sale of about Rs 3.66 crore. Of the fresh money, roughly Rs 10 crore is for the company's own working capital, and notably about Rs 11 crore is going into its UAE subsidiaries to fund their working capital, with the rest split between repaying loans, general corporate purposes and issue expenses. The large tilt towards overseas subsidiaries is worth noting, since it funds expansion rather than the core Indian business.

Contact Details

Striders Impex Ltd. Kids and licensed merchandise brand and distribution company, based in Maharashtra Overseas arm: Striders FZ LLC, UAE Retail partners include Timezone and Landmark

IPO Registrar - MUFG Intime India Pvt. Ltd. (formerly Link Intime India Pvt. Ltd.) Phone: +91-22-4918 6270 Website: www.in.mpms.mufg.com

Lead Manager: Capital Square Advisors Pvt. Ltd. Listing exchange: NSE SME.

This page is not investment advice. GMP is indicative only and unofficial. Please consult a SEBI registered financial advisor before investing.