Urban Ladder's revenues rise, losses narrow significantly amid offline expansion drive

Omnichannel furniture retailer Urban Ladder has managed to post a healthy increase in its operating revenues while significantly narrowing its losses for the financial year 2017-18.

On a standalone basis, the company’s operating revenue grew nearly 137% to Rs 96.64 crore for the year ended March 2018 from Rs 40.67 crore in 2016-17, show filings with the Registrar of Companies.

Net losses fell to Rs 118.66 crore from Rs 457.96 crore in the previous fiscal. This was aided by total expenses declining by more than half to Rs 232.73 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 508.58 crore in 2016-17 amid a focus on reducing cash burn and offline expansion.

Urban Ladder recorded a 64% increase in its consolidated operating revenues at Rs 152.52 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 93.17 crore in the previous year. It slashed its consolidated net losses to Rs 117.32 crore during the year compared to Rs 459.11 crore in 2016-17.

Owned and operated by Urban Ladder Home Décor Solutions Pvt. Ltd., the company was founded in 2012 by Rajiv Srivatsa and Ashish Goel. It offers more than 5,000 furniture designs under a dozen broad categories that include living, bedroom, dining room, storage, study and decor among others.

Urban Ladder, which was until recently an online-first venture, has begun to expand its offline presence aggressively with the launch of six large-format stores in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR. The move to ramp up its offline presence is in keeping with a wider perception that omnichannel might be the way forward for vertical e-commerce players in the furniture retailing space. 

Goel recently told The Economic Times that offline stores account for around one-third of the company’s overall revenue.

Last year, it secured a licence to become a single-brand retail firm after the government allowed 100% foreign direct investment in the segment.

In 2016-17, the firm reported a steep rise in consolidated revenue and shrank its loss for the financial year.

Urban Ladder’s main rival Pepperfry had reported a narrower loss for the financial year 2017-18 as it increased its revenues and cut costs. 

Pepperfry’s consolidated revenue rose to Rs 309 crore for the year through March from Rs 258 crore the preceding year. Consolidated net loss shrank to Rs 169 crore from Rs 249 crore, helped by a 13% reduction in expenses to Rs 453 crore.

Urban Ladder is one of the significantly funded players in the furniture retailing space having raised a total of nearly $110 million  through a mix of equity and debt. Its investors include Ratan Tata, Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners, Kalaari Capital and Sequoia Capital.

In its most recent fundraising in September 2018, the company raised $5.06 million from venture debt firm Trifecta Capital,  six months after the furniture e-tailer raised $11.83 million in February last year.

Pepperfry, which has raised more than $180 million till date, had raised Rs 250 crore in its most recent funding round from asset management company State Street Global Advisors.