Pepperfry.com raises US$100 Million

Pepperfry.com, India’s largest furniture and home products marketplace, has raised US$ 100 Million in a fresh round of funding led by Goldman Sachs and Zodius Technology Fund. Existing investors Bertelsmann India Investments (BII) and Silicon Valley based Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) also participated in this round. This is the largest quantum of investment raised by a sector focused ecommerce player in India.

In the last three years, Pepperfry has delighted more than 2 Million customers with an unparalleled selection of merchandize, showcased products from thousands of merchants and entrepreneurs on its platform and built India’s largest furniture supply chain reaching customers in 300+ cities. Pepperfry has also leveraged its robust financial architecture to invest behind building the ecosystem of skilled craftsmen, logistics professionals and interior designers in India.

Pepperfry will utilize the fresh capital to expand its logistics footprint in Tier III and Tier IV cities by adding to its growing fleet of delivery vehicles. It will also open new distribution centers and expand its carpenter and assembly service network. Over the next year, Pepperfry will quadruple its technology and engineering team with a focus on leveraging augmented reality on mobile to further enrich the buying experience. Additionally, Pepperfry will continue to partner and advise consumers as they look to design their home interiors through its team of interior design specialists at the Pepperfry Experience Centers.

Ambareesh Murty, Founder & CEO of Pepperfry said, “Our goal is to be the place where modern Indian families shop for their homes. While we are on this mission, we will benefit tremendously from the global insight of Goldman Sachs and the business savvy of Zodius as they join the Pepperfry board. Our existing investors, Norwest and Bertelsmann, have been great partners and I thank them for reiterating their faith in our team.”

Ankur Sahu, Co-Head of Private Equity at Goldman Sachs in Asia said, “We have a strong conviction for the theme of domestic consumption growth in India. Goldman Sachs continues to back high-quality local entrepreneurs to build significant businesses that create and deliver value to the everyday lives of the country's young, billion plus population. Through this most recent partnership in Pepperfly.com, we intend to leverage our global expertise in the sector to help create a large, differentiated leader in India’s rapidly growing eCommerce industry.”

Gautam Patel, Managing Director, Zodius Technology Fund said, “We believe Ambareesh, Ashish and Team are building a formidable business in Furniture and Homecare.  Their ability to move large pieces of furniture across the country within 24 hours using Technology is noteworthy.  Pepperfry represents quality and service at scale with world class sourcing and private label branding.  T.V. Mohandas Pai and Ranjan Pai have co-invested along with us."

Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director, Bertelsmann India Investments said, "India is a strategic growth region for Bertelsmann – and the Pepperfry success story shows how well we are progressing with the expansion of our activities there. Pepperfry has quickly evolved into the leading online marketplace for furniture and home furnishings in India. We continue to see enormous potential for Pepperfry in this USD 25 Billion home and furniture market and are very pleased to continue developing Pepperfry with our partners.”

Commenting on the investment, Niren Shah, Managing Director, Norwest Venture Partners India (NVP India) said, "We have been privileged to partner with the founding team of Ambareesh and Ashish from day zero. This latest round of funding is further validation of Pepperfry’s value proposition, and the team's exceptional execution in the furniture and home category, which has made Pepperfry by far the largest player in this category.”

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