Kalaari leads $15m round for India's Urban Ladder

Existing investors Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners and Sequoia Capital also participated. Livemint, citing a disclosure with the Registrar of Companies, indicated that the latest round values Urban Ladder’s shares at INR19,167 each, up from INR15,160 at its $50 million Series C round in 2015.

The new investment comes as Urban Ladder seeks to expand its offline presence through its own experience centers, partnerships with large format retail stores, and kiosks in smaller local retailers. In addition, the company is pursuing cross-selling deals with paint and appliance brands.

Urban Ladder hopes to build a new brand identity focused on furniture and home improvement rather than e-commerce, where the company has struggled to achieve growth.

Last year the company reduced the number of products offered through its online platform from 5,000 to 4,000, with further reductions of up to 1,000 expected by the end of 2017. It has also begun selling its products on rival platforms such as Flipkart and Amazon. The company said the cuts should free up resources to focus on quality and customer service.

Urban Ladder was launched in 2012 and received $1 million in seed funding from Kalaari the same year. A $5 million Series A round from Kalaari and SAIF followed in 2013, with Steadview leading the company’s $21 million Series B round in 2014.

Urban Ladder’s biggest competitor is Pepperfry, which has raised multiple rounds of VC funding including a $31 million Series E round last year. Along with its online furniture and home accessories business, Pepperfry manages a string of showrooms where customers can consult with interior design experts on decorating their homes.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• Expansion
• India
• Kalaari Capital
• SAIF Partners
• Sequoia Capital
• TMT