Raised $30 million recently.
The Bengaluru-based online furniture rental company Furlenco is making inroads into the Indian furniture rental market. The company has recently raised Rupees 200 crore (about $30 million) in a Series B round – a mix of equity and debt financing.
The equity portion of the investment is led by Lightbox Ventures along with Axis Capital, a Hong Kong-based VC fund and a few prominent HNIs and $15 million of debt was raised from banks, NBFCs, individuals, and family offices.
Ajith Mohan Karimpana, founder, and CEO of Furlenco said, “This fresh funding, which includes $15 Mn of equity and $15 Mn of debt, is a testament to Furlenco’s strong unit economics and growing operational cash flow. Furlenco’s core differentiation lies in its design philosophy, customer experience, and technology.â€
Established in 2012 by Karimpana, an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, Furlenco has established strong brand values among Indian customers making them think of hiring furniture on a rental basis, reported Tech Crunch.
The company has employed a large number of experienced designers to manufacture better and furniture using quality material that last long and can be easily refurbished. Its approach to design is user led and is largely inspired by the lifestyle needs of the urban Indian.
Apart from ensuring 72-hour delivery, Furlenco has got coverage for furniture up to Rupees 10,000. The users can avail one free annual furniture cleaning service after the minimum subscription period.
Customers can change the look of their rooms by using the swap feature. Free relocation is offered once in a year in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai where the company operates.
Each returned product is restored to original through an intensive high precision process. As furniture utilization remains above 95 percent, the company doesn’t have to maintain large warehouses.
Over the past 18 months, Furlenco has furnished nearly 15,000 homes with products worth over Rupees 100 crore ($15 million) of market value. As part of the plan to boost its growth, the company has hired Aishvarya Chanakya as vice-president of marketing and Uday Kamat as vice-president of operations.
“We are focused on consolidating our presence as a disruptive player in the furniture industry by hiring experts who can add value to our existing range of products and to our distribution model. Bringing Aishvarya and Uday on board is a step towards achieving that aim,†Karimpana told Economic Times.
However, the company is facing competition from similar players in the market including Fabfurnish, Pepperfry, LivSpace, and Urban Ladder.