India home interiors player raises $50m Series E

IIFL invested via its Late-Stage Tech Fund. It was joined by Sequoia Capital India, Accel Partners, Stride Ventures, NuVentures, Evolvence India, and OIJIF II, the second vintage from a joint venture between the State General Reserve Fund of Oman and the State Bank of India.

It brings total funding since the company’s inception in 2014 to $104 million, including an $8 million bridge round last year led by Stride and $30 million Series D in 2019 led by Evolvence, US-based FJ Labs, and Indian adhesives maker Pidilite. Pidilite also joined in the Series E.

Sequoia India has participated in all seven rounds, investing more than $50 million in 2015 alone. Previous investors also include Baring Private Equity Partners India, JSW Ventures, Brand Capital, Aarin Capital, Growth Story, RB Investments, and Bond Connect, a joint venture between the China Foreign Exchange Trade System and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

HomeLane is a tech-enabled brand providing end-to-end interior design services for more than 20,000 customers via 29 locations in 18 cities. The offering includes an all-virtual 3D design and floor plan process, as well as installation and post-installation services. This includes a guarantee to deliver personalized “dream home” designs to first-time homebuyers within 45 days.

HomeLane claims an asset-light model has helped it record cash profitability in November 2020, making it the only start-up in the local interior design segment to reach this milestone. It plans to achieve revenue of around $340 million by 2024.

The company has attributed strong traction in the past year to rising demand for higher-value, branded services with fewer fixed costs and more supplementary services. This has been supported by greater demand for virtual services in light of COVID-19.

"As homes continue to be the center of everything, there has been an increased momentum in the home interiors category,” Srinath Srinivasan, CEO of OIJIF, said in a statement.

“Backing HomeLane is our vote of confidence in their technological innovation leading to rapid scale, customer-centric approach to solving problems, and most importantly the strong team led by [Srikanth Iyer and Tanuj Choudhry] (pictured). This is evident in the kind of traction that they have gained even in the midst of a pandemic.”

HomeLane reinforced its online strategy in 2017 with the acquisition of furniture marketplace Capricoast for about $14 million. Accel and RB Investments were both investors in Capricoast, which was set up by Jawad Ayaz, co-founder of Accel-backed furniture retailer Zansaar.

Other operators in this space include furniture retailers Urban Ladder, which is also backed by Sequoia India, and Pepperfry, which raised $40 million last year from a group of investors including Pidilite.

The best-funded player and most direct competitor to HomeLane is arguably Singapore-based Livspace, which has raised around $277 million, including a $90 million Series D last year. Livspace is active in both India and Southeast Asia.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Consumer
• Technology
• Expansion
• India
• Sequoia Capital
• Accel Partners
• Evolvence Capital