Urban Ladder raises $12mn from Kalaari, Saif Partners and others

Home furnishing company Urban Ladder today said it has raised an internal round of USD 12 million from Kalaari Capital, Saif Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Steadview Capital. In combination with the USD 15 million raised in January 2017, these funds will be used towards Urban Ladder's omni-channel expansion, the company said in a statement. It added that investors believe the omni-channel approach and profitability push (in FY18-19) "is a winning strategy to build a powerful retail brand".

The company has raised USD 103 million till date. Urban Ladder currently has two large format stores in Domlur and Whitefield and one sofa lounge in HSR Layout in Bengaluru.

The company continues to study other cities for its next phase of expansion, aiming at 15 - 20 stores across India by March 2019, the statement said. "Our offline expansion in Bengaluru has been extremely well-received by customers for the differentiated furniture-shopping experience. This has energized us to chart the next course of our retail journey and build India's largest furniture brand by March 2019," Urban Ladder co-founder and CEO Ashish Goel said.

Set up in 2012 as an online brand, Urban Ladder embarked on its offline retail strategy in July 2017. In August last year, it received approval for Single Brand Retail Trading (SBRT) licence and since then, has transitioned from a marketplace to an inventory-led omni-channel brand.