Leading Indian furniture and home products marketplace Pepperfry.com has reportedly raised $100 million in a fresh round of funding and has drawn up plans for aggressive growth and to create a robust technology team.
The latest funding is the largest amount raised by a sector-focused e-commerce player in India and was led by Goldman Sachs and Zodius Technology Fund with existing investors Bertelsmann India Investment and Norwest Venture Partners also participating.
This is the company’s fourth round of funding; it had earlier raised $28 million.
“Through this most recent partnership with Pepperfry.com, we intend to leverage our global expertise in the sector to help create a large, differentiated leader in India’s rapidly growing e-Commerce industry,” Ankur Sahu, Co-Head of Private Equity, Goldman Sachs in Asia was quoted as saying.
Pepperfry.com reaches customers in more than 350 towns and cities and will use the funds to expand its reach to 550 towns and cities. It wants to increase its logistics footprint in Tier-III and Tier-IV cities by doubling its fleet of delivery vehicles from the current 200 vehicles by year-end. Furniture accounts for 75 per cent of its business and Pepperfry specializes in solid wood furniture.
“More than 90 per cent of furniture market is unorganised and we want to make it more affordable. We offer products in more durable wood like Sheesham (Indian rosewood), rubberwood and mango wood, making more than 20,000 pieces of wood furniture per month,” Ashish Shah, COO and co-founder, Pepperfry.com, said.
Also on the anvil is expansion of distribution centres from the current 11 to 16 by September in several markets, including Kanpur, Visakhapatnam, Jaipur, Goa and Chandigarh.
Pepperfry seeks to quadruple its technology and engineering team from the current 70 to around 300 soon with a focus on leveraging augmented reality on mobile to enrich the buying experience.
Must Read
