Pepperfry Launches Its New Studio in Bangalore

STRENGTHENS ITS OMNICHANNEL PRESENCE IN SOUTHERN INDIA

Pepperfry, the leading ecommerce furniture and home goods company, announced the launch of its New Studio in Bangalore, Karnataka. The offline expansion is in line with the company’s aim to penetrate into niche markets and strengthen its omnichannel consumer engagement in home and living space in India. Pepperfry’s studio footprint currently spans across 90+ cities with 180+ studios in the country.

Pepperfry Studios have transformed the furniture retail landscape in India. The company’s omnichannel strategy is driven by expansion of FOFO studios across the country and it currently works with 90 plus unique partners. The new studio launched in partnership with Vishnuz Enterprise, is situated at a prime location at S.G. Arcade, RR Nagar, in Bangalore, spanning across a carpet area of 1705sq. ft. It offers customers a first-hand experience of an infinite catalogue of furniture and home products. Customers will get specialized design advice from the company’s interior design consultants. The studio at Bangalore aims at providing a personalized shopping experience tailored to the unique needs of home and living customers in Karnataka.

Speaking of the launch Amruta Gupta, Business Head - Franchising and Alliances, Pepperfry said, “We are delighted to launch our new Studio in Bangalore in partnership with Vishnuz Enterprise. Owning a Pepperfry franchise is an entrepreneurial success, and we aim to reach consumers beyond the larger catchment areas of metropolitan and tier 1 cities. Our franchise partners include a mix of successful businesses, women entrepreneurs, ex-army officials and first-time entrepreneurs. Today a large part of our Pepperfry customer interactions leverage AR and virtual product interactions. With our mission to spark a feeling called home across the world, we endeavor to consistently deliver great customer service.”

Jayakanth.B & Pallavi Jayakanth (Owner of Franchise Studio), said, “We are extremely happy to partner with Pepperfry, India’s leading home and furniture marketplace. Pepperfry has pioneered a truly differentiated omnichannel business and we are proud to be a part of their journey in creating the largest omnichannel home and furniture business.”

Launched in 2017, Pepperfry franchise business model offers order fulfillment and after sales service by Pepperfry, support on studio design, launch & set up, operational guidance, marketing, and promotions. Pepperfry partners with local entrepreneurs who are aware of the hyperlocal demand cycles and trends. Pepperfry launches about 8-9 franchisees every month.

Pepperfry Accelerator Program was crafted in the year 2021 to expand Pepperfry’s offline footprint. The big differentiator of this program is the Capex required by franchise partners which starts with INR 15 lakhs. This model is based on 100% price parity and does not require the partner to hold product inventory, making it a mutually beneficial business association.

Pepperfry is India’s leading ecommerce furniture and home goods company offering customers a diverse selection of over 120,000 SKUs in over 500+ cities with a consistently great shopping experience. The Pepperfry managed marketplace helps thousands of entrepreneurs and merchants sell to millions of discerning customers across India.

Furniture e-Tailer Pepperfry opens Outlet in Coimbatore

Pepperfry, a leading furniture e-tailer, will touch 100 outlets across India by June 2020, a top company official said on Thursday.

Pepperfry at present has 67 studios (shops) including the one opened in the city on Thursday, in 24 cities across India, the company's Chief Category Officer Hussaine Kesury told reporters.

It has 23 largest studios in South India including in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi, he said.

The company has 15 franchise model studios in the country, including in Coimbatore throughVR Enterprises, he added.

South India is an essential market for the company, which contributes to over 40 per cent of the overall business, as consumers in the region are highly evolved online buyers,
Kesury said.

Founded in 2012, by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, Pepperfry was speculated to raise $100 million from Norwest Venture Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), in January this year.

In 2017, Pepperfry's competitor, Urban Ladder, was been granted the single brand retail trade (SBRT) licence by DPTII. With this governmental approval, that help the company build a strong offline presence across India.

Earlier in July this year, E-Commerce giant Flipkart forayed into the offline space with its first Furniture Experience Centre in Bengaluru.

~ With inputs from PTI

Furniture E-Tailer Pepperfry May Raise $100 Mn from Existing Investors

Private Equity fund of American investment bank, Goldman Sachs, along with Norwest Venture Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) may invest $100 million in furniture e-tailer Pepperfry, reported ET Tech, citing sources privy to the development. All three investors are already investors in Pepperfry.

The funds raised will help Pepperfry expand its offline presence and diversify to strengthen its position in furniture market which is riding on a wave set off by Global giant like Ikea, a Siss company entered India last year.

Ikea, along with search giant Google, are contemplating to enter Indian e-commerce market as they both are coming up with their own e-commerce stores under their own brand names respectively, to sell their branded products under one roof.

Existing investors of Pepperfry are looking at investing $100 million into the company and according to the report, fresh equity will be issued in the proposed round in which the investors will seek to maintain their level of holdings in the company.

In July 2015, Goldman Sachs, Bertelsmann India Investments and Norwest Venture Partners, have contributed in $100 million Series-D rounding of funding of Pepperfry. This was followed by an additional 210 crore investment in September 2016.

Founded in 2012, by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, Pepperfry.com has raised a total of about $198 million in funding over 6 rounds. Their latest funding was raised about $34 million in March last year, according to data by Crunchbase. NOtably, in the same month of same year, Pepperfry's rival, Urban Ladder, too had raised $12 million from Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners, Sequoia Capital and Steadview Capital, in its second internal round of funding.

According to industry estimates, India's online home-furnishing and furniture retail market is expected to cross $1.1 billion in revenue this year, up from about $900 million in 2016.

Pepperfry Raises Rs 210 Cr in Series E Round of Funding from Existing Investors

Pepperfry.com, Indian furniture and home marketplace, has raised Rs 210 Crore in a fresh round of funding from current investors Goldman Sachs, Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) and Zodius Technology Fund. This is the largest investment raised by a vertical-focused, pure-play ecommerce company in India this year. These funds will be used to scale Pepperfry’s logistics & service network and to expand the Pepperfry Studios’ (Experience Centers) footprint.

In the last five years, more than three million customers have made purchases from over 10,000 merchants on the Pepperfry platform, leading it to a position of dominance in the online furniture and home segment in India.

In India, Pepperfry owns and operates the largest customer facing Big Box Supply Chain through 17 fulfilment hubs and a delivery fleet of over 400 vehicles, delighting customers across 500+ cities.

In the last year, Pepperfry has also extended its customer offerings to include Bespoke Interior Design Consulting and Project Management Services and has launched Pepperfry Studios in India’s six largest metros.

In these next few months the Pepperfry Studio coverage will be extended into Tier II and III towns, and in keeping with Pepperfry’s sharp focus on customer experience significant investments will be made behind Supply Chain Automation and the Big Box logistics network will expand to 1000+ Cities.

Ambareesh Murty, Founder & CEO of Pepperfry said, “Our mission is to help 20 million customers’ create beautiful homes by 2020. We are doing this through a differentiated, profitable business model and I thank our investors for believing in the team and for being great partners on this journey”.

Ankur Sahu, Co-Head of Private Equity at Goldman Sachs in Asia said, “Over the past year and a half, Pepperfry has continued to successfully innovate, grow its business and deliver on the macro theme of domestic consumption growth in India. In partnership with the talented management team, our goal is to establish a differentiated and sustainable leader in India’s rapidly growing ecommerce industry to stand the test of time.”

Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director, Bertelsmann India Investments said, "The Indian internet story has just begun and the furniture category is set to witness explosive growth over the next couple of years. Pepperfry is an exceptional brand and is well positioned as the market leader to ride this next wave of market expansion”.

Niren Shah, Managing Director, Norwest Venture Partners said, “Pepperfry is built on strong values and a differentiated business model. We have been fans of Pepperfry since its inception and are confident that Ambareesh and Ashish will continue to excite customers and create exceptional value for all stakeholders.”

Gautam Patel, Managing Director, Zodius Technology Fund said, “Pepperfry’s success lies in deep understanding of their customers by analyses of customer requirement and experience data. This latest round of funding is a validation of Pepperfry’s value proposition and our continued commitment to the business.”