Urban Ladder raises $20M in Series B funding from Steadview, SAIF, Kalaari

Bangalore-based Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions Pvt Ltd, which runs online furniture shop Urban Ladder, has secured Rs 120 crore ($20 million) in Series B round of funding led by Steadview Capital, with participation from existing investors, including SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital. The funds will be used to grow its presence in the Indian furniture market, the company said in a statement.

"Product design and good customer experience have been our key differentiators in the market, and have helped us establish our dominance in the country. We will continue to strengthen these aspects with a focus on innovative technology, which will further elevate customer experience," said Ashish Goel, CEO & co-founder of Urban Ladder.

"As we grow, we want to build a team of smart people who are excited to be a part of a journey that will revolutionise the furniture industry globally. We aim to double our employee base in the next six months," said Rajiv Srivatsa, COO & co-founder, Urban Ladder.

Launched in July 2012 by Goel and Srivatsa, Urban Ladder deals across categories like beds, sofas, dining tables, tables and bar units, storage and shelves, seating and accessories (trays, mirrors, laundry basket, etc). Urban Ladder claims that it offers over 1,000 products across 25 categories. The firm also plans to expand the product range and service to 25-30 cities in India by March 2015.

The company had earlier raised $5 million led by SAIF Partners in November 2013, and $1 million from Kalaari Capital in August 2012.

Urban Ladder is mainly competing with Fabfurnish.com and Pepperfry.com, besides other horizontal e-commerce players such as Flipkart.com, Snapdeal.com and Amazon.in.

This comes as back to back investment for Steadview Capital, an alternative asset management firm that makes long-term investments. Early this month, the fund participated in a $41.8 million funding round in online marketplace for cabs and car rental services, Olacabs.com. Its other Indian investments include Page Industries, Jubilant Foodworks and Shriram City Union.

"Furniture is a highly fragmented and unorganised space, and we believe Urban Ladder is well positioned to leverage technology in order to become the leading furniture company in India. Their focus on customer experience and innovative product offerings stand out and we think very highly of the founders and the team they have built around them," said Ravi Mehta, MD of Steadview Capital.

In May this year, online home products marketplace venture Pepperfry.com raised Rs 95 crore ($16 million) in funding led by Bertelsmann India Investments, the strategic investment arm of the international media company Bertelsmann in India, with participation from existing investor Norwest Venture Partners.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)