Pepperfry secures $40 Mn in Series F funding round led by Pidilite

Furniture retailer Pepperfry has secured $40 million in a Series F round led by adhesives manufacturing company Pidilite Industries.

Existing investors Goldman Sachs, Norwest Venture Partners, Bertelsmann India and State Street Advisors also participated in the round.

According to an ET report, the Mumbai-based startup, which is on an expansion spree over the past 12-18 months, would deploy these proceeds to spruce-up its technology.

The fresh capital for the company has come after almost two years. Previously, it had raised about $35 million as part of a Series E round from State Street Global Advisors in March 2018.

In September 2016, it had also bagged $30 million in a Series E round from Goldman Sachs and Bertelsmann Investments.

Incepted in 2011 by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, Pepperfry is one of the leading online home and lifestyle stores offering a wide range of furniture and home decor products. Started with categories such as home, lifestyle, and fashion, the company now specializes in furniture and home products on its managed marketplace platform.

Its wide range of products includes furnishings, wall accents, mattresses, bedding, dining sets, kid's room decor, among others.

Pepperfry's website claims it has 1.2 lakh products to choose from and over 120 lakh monthly visits on its platform. With more than 60 lakh registered users, the company also says it has 40 plus experience centres and 17 fulfilment hubs across the country.

At present, the company has its studios operational in more than 25 Indian cities including Bengaluru, Pune, Noida, Gurugram, Mysore, New Delhi, Chandigarh and others.

During the financial year 2019, the company's total revenue increased by 47% to Rs 206.8 crore while its total expenses amounted to Rs 390.3 crore. The company faced a net loss of Rs 183.5 crore at the end of FY19.

Pepperfry directly competes with Sequoia Capital-backed Urban Ladder and Walmart-owned Flipkart.

Urban Ladder had posted a profit of Rs 50 crore in the last fiscal with its revenue from operations rising by 95.5%, from Rs 152.52 crore in FY18 to Rs 298.17 crore in FY19.