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Furniture and home decor brand Urban Ladder has raised an internal round of $12 million from investors Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners, Sequoia Capital and Steadview Capital.
Target 2019
This capital, along with the $15 million raised in January 2017, will be used to further the company’s omni-channel expansion, both online and offline, in a move towards achieving profitability by FY 19.
Urban Ladder currently operates two large-format stores and a ‘sofa lounge’ in Bengaluru.
The company is set to launch its fourth store this month here, while simultaneously continuing to study other cities for its next phase of expansion, targeting 15-20 stores across India by March 2019.
“The past year has been phenomenal for us. Our offline expansion in Bengaluru has been extremely well-received by customers for the differentiated furniture-shopping experience. This has energised us to chart the next course of our retail journey,” said Ashish Goel, CEO and co-founder, Urban Ladder.
This growth has been encouraged by the government’s introduction of GST, SBRT (single-brand retail trading) license approval, and the latest addition of 100 per cent FDI (foreign direct investment) for single-brand retail.
The timing and the confluence of these initiatives will strengthen the firm’s product innovation, category expansion and push for profitability in FY19, he said.
Offline retail
Started in 2012, Urban Ladder initiated its offline retail strategy in July 2017 after building an online presence. In August 2017, it was approved for an SBRT licence and since then, has transitioned from a marketplace to an inventory-led omni-channel brand.
The license has also given the company tighter control over its product designs, inventory holding and overall supply chain management.
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