Furniture marketplace Pepperfry raises Rs 43.3 crore in funding: Report

Omnichannel furniture marketplace Pepperfry has reportedly raised Rs 43.3 crore (approximately $5.1 million) in a fresh funding round from existing investors including General Electric Pension Trust, Norwest Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, Panthera Growth Partners, and Growth Equity Opportunity Fund.

The round was led by General Electric Pension Trust, which contributed Rs 21.5 crore, followed by Rs 8.5 crore from Norwest and Rs 6.4 crore from Panthera, with the remainder provided by other existing shareholders.

The company’s board approved the issuance of approximately 5.6 lakh compulsorily convertible preference shares at an issue price of Rs 775 each to raise the aforementioned sum, Entrackr reported, citing the company's regulatory filings accessed from the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

The Mumbai-based company last raised $23 million in September 2023 from the same set of investors. In 2021, it had also secured $45 million in debt funding as it prepared to scale operations and gear up for a public listing.

Founded in 2012, Pepperfry had converted into a public entity in 2022 as part of its IPO preparations, with an initial target of raising $250–300 million. However, the listing was postponed last year after interactions with investment bankers, with co-founder Ashish Shah citing the company’s focus on growth and profitability.

According to financial filings for FY24, the company’s operating revenue dropped 30.6% year-on-year to Rs 188.9 crore, while net losses narrowed 37.4% to Rs 117.4 crore. The latest infusion is expected to be used for growth initiatives, geographic expansion, and general corporate purposes, the publication reported. 

Pepperfry operates a marketplace model, offering a catalogue of more than 10,000 furniture and home décor products both online and through over 200 experience studios across 100 cities. It earns a majority of its revenue through commissions from third-party product sales, and it has recently expanded its portfolio by onboarding multiple direct-to-consumer home décor brands.