Cars24 in legal quandary, IKEA launches online operations in Mumbai

Cars24 gets notices from landlords over non-payment of rent. In a global first, IKEA launches online operations in Mumbai ahead of its store launch.

Cars24 sued by landlords for non-payment of rents

Used cars marketplace Cars24 Services Pvt Ltd has received legal notices from nearly six landlords for violation of tenancy agreements, The Economic Times reported.

Citing unnamed sources, the report said notices have been issued over alleged non-payment of rents for months and shutting down outlets, which is supposedly in violation of the lease agreements. 

The report added that Cars24 has already wound up operations in around a dozen outlets in Delhi.

E-mail queries sent to Mehul Agrawal and Vikram Chopra, co-founders of the venture, seeking more information on the development did not elicit a response at the time of filing this report.

Entrack had earlier reported that Cars24 laid off over 300 employees, including the entire consumer-finance team of 125-150 people and the whole Bengaluru tech team of 16 employees.

The axing of the consumer-finance team came a little over four months after the firm had applied to the Reserve Bank of India for a non-banking financial company (NBFC) licence.

Gurugram-based Cars24, which buys cars from individuals and sells them to dealerships and used-car platforms, had raised $50 million in July 2018 from venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and existing investors. Cars24 operates an asset-heavy model and has a presence across 12 cities.

Cars24’s operational revenue rose 60% to Rs 660.95 crore for the financial year 2017-18.

IKEA goes online-first in Mumbai 

Swedish furniture giant IKEA has opened its online store in Mumbai, ahead of its physical stores, marking the first such move by the company globally, The Times of India reported.

The report added that the Ingvar Kamprad-founded company will also open small neighbourhood stores across the country as part of its overall strategy.

The company has reportedly identified two locations in Mumbai for the launch of the said offline stores.

Email queries sent to IKEA seeking more information in this regard did not elicit a response at the time of filing this report.

An IKEA spokesperson told TOI that its shopping services will also be extended to Pune and Hyderabad where it opened its maiden store. 

Small neighbourhood stores are being planned in Bangalore and Gurugram, the report said.

In May 2019, Ingka Investments, the investment arm of the Ingka Group, which owns and operates IKEA, made an undisclosed investment in the Bengaluru-based online home décor startup Livspace.

IKEA will take head-on competitors including the likes of new age furniture etailers like Urban Ladder and Pepperfry.

Also Read: What IKEA's bet on Livspace means for the startup, online home decor segment

Accel leads funding round in VComply

VComply, a Silicon Valley based GRC (governance, risk and compliance) management platform has raised $2.5 mn in a seed round led by Accel, the company confirmed in an email to TechCircle. The capital will be used product development and global expansion, according to multiple media reports.

The company was founded in 2016 by chartered accountant Harshvardhan Kariwala. 

It claims to provide a comprehensive cloud-based GRC solution that streamlines operations management, third-party management, auditing and regulations requirements in a way that organisations have complete control over their governance needs.