Pidilite is making yet another bet in new-age startups, as the company looks to diversify from its traditional adhesives and industrial chemicals business. Along those lines, the company has now led a $40 million round in online furniture marketplace Pepperfry, according to a report from Economic Times.
This is Pidilite’s second such investment in a startup. Earlier, the company had co-led a $30 million round in online interior decor platform Homelane.
Pepperfry is an online retailer of furniture and related products for home, office and related needs. The company has raised close to $197 million in external funding so far, according to data available via Crunchbase. Peppefry raised a similar, $31.5 million in March of 2018 from State Street Global Advisors. Prior to that, the company raised a $30 million round in 2016 to fuel expansion. Its biggest round so far came in via Goldman Sachs, which led a $100 million round back in 2015.
As of January 2019, Pepperfry claims to have served over 6 million customers through its platform. The platform currently server over 500 cities across India with over 120K products listed across multiple home decor categories.
The company however, isn’t just restricted to its online play. Similar to how online players like Lenskart and Firstcry have created a mixed, online/offline model, Pepperfry too has its own experience stores across the country. Pepperfry currently operates 40 such experience stores, with more in the pipeline as the company continues to see success through this channel.
