Bengaluru-based used goods marketplace Zefo has raised Series-B funding of Rs 60 crore from existing investors Sequoia Capital India, Helion Venture Partners, and Beenext.
The company will deploy the latest proceeds to optimise operations, deepen product portfolio and build the technology and product teams.
Zefo was founded in 2015 by Arjit Gupta, Rohit Ramasubramanian, Himesh Joshi and Karan Gupta. Ramasubramanian, a graduate from IIT-Madras, and Karan Gupta, a graduate from IIT-Delhi, have both worked with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Helion Venture Partners prior to launching Zefo.
A marketplace to sell and buy used goods, currently serving two categories—appliances and furniture. Present in Bengaluru, Mysore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Mumbai, the company currently offers televisions, refrigerators, washing machines and microwaves under the appliances category and beds, sofas, dining tables, etc. in the furniture category.
Unlike most classifieds platforms, which let buyers and sellers directly interact with each other for a transaction, it buys goods from sellers, refurbishes them and then puts them on sale on its platform for people looking to buy used products.
The Platform offers about 15,000 products across 14 categories and its buyback guarantee is a major driver of sales.
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“Operations are a core part of our business. So, we want to improve our logistics, warehousing, and refurbishment and become more efficient,” said Rohit Ramasubramanian, co-founder of Zefo.
Zefo which aims to expand its mobile category launched a few month ago procures supplies from marketplaces like Flipkart, Amazon India and offline vendors but more than 50% of its procurement comes from single sellers.
Besides GoZefo, Refabd, Tradly, Quickr, Olx, Max Deal, Spoyl, Second hand mall are some startups works in the same segment.
As per a report published in The Financial Express, Indian homes are sitting on a huge stockpile of unused goods—worth a whopping Rs 78,300 crore, as per a study undertaken by used goods marketplace OLX last year. The amount is eight times the budget allocated for the Centre’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, notes OLX.
The CRUST report, prepared by OLX in association with market research firm IMRB International reveals the size of the unused goods market in 2014-2015 was 56,200 crore and a year before that, it was 22,000 crore.
Last month, Pepperfry for its ‘Exchange Your Furniture’ program had partnered with Zefo at zero additional cost.
Zefo: Website
