Online furniture retailer WoodenStreet raises $3 mn from IAN Fund, RVCF

Jaipur-based online furniture retail platform WoodenStreet has raised $3 million as part of an ongoing Series A funding round from IAN Fund and returning investor Rajasthan Venture Capital Funds (RVCF). 

The company will use the fresh capital to increase its geographic footprint in the domestic and global markets, according to a statement.

Earlier in 2018, it raised $1 million in the first tranche of the Series A funding round from RVCF. The capital from the round was used to set up around 25 experience stores across the country, it said.

Founded in 2015 by Lokendra Ranawat, Dinesh Pratap Singh, Virendra Ranawat and Vikas Baheti, WoodenStreet currently has delivery centres across 100 Indian cities. 

With an expected revenue of Rs 100 crore in the ongoing financial year, WoodenStreet plans to expand to over 50 experience stores globally in the home decor space, it said.

“The innovation by WoodenStreet to create a tech-enabled furniture buying experience for customers is commendable. It is important for us to look at startup’s who can innovate to sustain in these challenging times,” Saurabh Srivastava, cofounder of IAN Fund, said.

Separately, the company has introduced virtual reality and 3D visualisation technology in its stores to prepare for the post Covid-19 shopping experience, the statement said.

WoodenStreet competes with well-funded players like Pepperfry, which has raised a total of $235 million across multiple funding rounds so far. In February, it received a $40 million capital infusion from Pidilite Industries and returning investors Goldman Sachs.

Other players in the space include Urban Ladder, which last raised $2.1 million in an internal funding round in November 2019, and Swedish furniture brand IKEA-backed LivSpace, which provides interior decoration services and sells furniture. The latter recently let go of 15% of its workforce as a result of Covid-19 induced business slowdown.