Exclusive: Online interior design platform GharCentre in talks to raise $1 mn

Delhi-based Avant Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates online home decor and interior design platform GharCentre, is in talks to raise close to $1 million (around Rs 6.65 crore) in a Series A round of funding from Kalaari Capital, as it tries to expand geographically, a person privy to the development told Techcircle.in.

"The funds will be used for product development and team building," the person mentioned above said, requesting anonymity.

GharCentre is currently operating in Delhi. It also plans to use the funds to expand to six more cities—Bombay, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gujarat.

Separate email queries sent to GharCentre and Kalaari Capital didn't immediately elicit any response.

Founded in 2015 by Abhay Raheja, a B Tech in electrical and electronics engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology, GharCentre helps users hire interior designers. Along with the design services, the designers help users find and purchase home products, including furniture, décor and lighting, from local stores.

According to market research firm TechNavio, the online home décor market in India is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 50.42% between 2014 and 2019.

GharCentre claims that it generates revenues of Rs 14-15 lakh a month and gets more than 20 inquiries a day.

In February, the firm had raised about Rs 1 crore in an angel funding round from two Delhi-based, high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).

GharCentre competes with other startups such as BedBathMore, Livspace and Furdo, among others. Online furniture players such as FabFurnish, Pepperfry and Urban Ladder besides horizontal e-commerce majors such as Flipkart.com, Snapdeal.com and Amazon.in also have a presence in the home decor and design space.

Earlier this month, Mumbai-based Home Craft Online Pvt. Ltd, which operates home décor portal BedBathMore.com, had raised an undisclosed amount of funding from a group of investors, including German internet firm Rocket Internet.

Last month, Kishore Biyani-led Future Group acquired furniture and home furnishings portal FabFurnish.com in an all-cash deal, which was the retail conglomerate's first e-commerce acquisition.

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