Online furniture retailer Urban Ladder, which announced it was raising Rs 125 crore in its third round of funding from Kalari Capital, SAIF Partners and Steadview on Wednesday, is looking to double its staff and further invest in the technology and supply chain. It is expecting to grow 300 per cent in 12 to 18 months.
Its staff strength is 100. It is looking to add 100 in technology, product and category management segments. This is the biggest round of funding for the e-retailer, which had raised $6 million in the initial two rounds of funding.
Founded in July 2012, the company serves in seven cities and plans to expand its operations to 25, including Goa, Mangalore, Mysore and Kolkata. Currently serving about 100 to 200 orders a day with an average ticket size of Rs 19,500, it is looking to ramp up their number to 600-800 a day.
"We will continue to focus on the furniture category and grow as market leaders in the segment. We have no plans to diverge from our existing marketplace model," said Ashish Goel, 36, founder and chief executive. The website works on a managed marketplace model and has six large and medium-size manufacturers and traders selling on the portal.
"We want to keep it focused and closely monitor the designs we offer to customers," said Goel.
The company competes in the online space with players like pepperfry.com and fabfurnish.com. While Rocket Internet-sponsored FabFurnish works on a managed marketplace model, Norwest Venture Partners-funded Pepperfry works on a hub-and-spoke model.
E-commerce company Flipkart, too, has plans for the furniture category.
The Indian home and furnishing market is pegged at $20 billion (Rs 1.2 lakh crore); the furniture segment accounts for half. As 90 per cent of the market is unorganised, it is an attractive avenue for online players.
