Pepperfry secures funds from investors; plans to develop logistics and experience studios

Leading furniture marketplace Pepperfry has got a shot in the arm with an investment of Rs. 210 crores from its investors. Ambareesh Murty, the company’s co-founder spoke about the utilisation of the fresh funds,

“Our mission is to help 20 million customers’ create beautiful homes by 2020. We are doing this through a differentiated, profitable business model.”

The money will also be channelled towards the company’s logistics. The logistics wing currently covers 500 cities; it will now be expanded to include 1,000 cities. The company will also use the funds towards its experience centres. Pepperfry had recently announced that it would add ten more experience studios in small cities to help buyers with expert advice and a look and feel of the products.

Meeting the competition

Pepperfry has to contend with Urban Ladder and FabFurnish, apart from marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart. Urban Ladder recently joined hands with Amazon and opened a store. Earlier this year, legacy company Godrej recently signed a deal with Flipkart. The latter announced that it wanted to be the top furniture etailer by the end of the year.

Amidst all this, Pepperfry has certainly gone a step ahead with the fresh inflow of money from investors Zodius Technology Fund, Goldman Sachs, Norwest Venture Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments. The company’s total capital raised so far now stands at $ 160 million. Urban Ladder on the other hand has managed to get $ 77 million from Steadview Capital, Sequoia Capital and others.

The Indian furniture segment is growing steadily. It is estimated to be valued at roughly $ 30 – 35 billion. With money flowing into the players’ coffers, this figure will only go northwards.