Pepperfry narrows loss to Rs128.8 crore in 2016-17
1 min read . Updated: 12 Dec 2017, 06:16 AM IST
PremiumOnline furniture start-up Pepperfry, run by Trendsutra Platform Services, reported a revenue of Rs127.5 crore in 2016-17, up 30% from Rs98.2 crore from the previous year
Bengaluru: Online furniture marketplace Pepperfry, run by Trendsutra Platform Services Pvt. Ltd, narrowed its losses to Rs128.8 crore in 2016-17, its filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) show. In the previous financial year, the company reported Rs154.9 crore losses.
The firm reported a revenue of Rs127.5 crore, up 30% from Rs98.2 crore last year.
Pepperfry’s losses almost doubled in FY16 due to higher advertising spends. In FY17, the company recovered after advertising spends dropped 10% to Rs138.4 crore. Pepperfy had incurred Rs154.9 crore in advertising spends in FY16.
Employee costs, however, increased 15% to Rs27.2 crore in FY17 from Rs23.6 crore in the previous year.
In September 2016, the company raised Rs210 crore in a Series-E round from existing investors including Goldman Sachs, Bertelsmann India Investments, Norwest Venture Partners and Zodius Technology Fund. Since inception in 2011, Pepperfry has raised around $160 million from investors.
At the September funding round, Ambareesh Murty, chief executive of Pepperfry, revealed plans to set up furniture shops named Pepperfry Studio in small towns and cities.
In an interview last month, the company’s co-founder Ashish Shah said that Pepperfry makes 45% gross margin and claimed to be profitable at the pre-marketing level.
He added that the company is planning on an initial public offering (IPO), as it expects to turn profitable in the next 12-18 months.
Currently, Pepperfry has more than 1 million home furnishing products on its platform, and delivers to more than 500 cities in India. It also has a fleet of 400 trucks, with 18 warehouses across the country.
It claims to have an average order value of Rs18,000—with 80% of its business coming from furniture sales. Rest of its business comes from décor and utility sales.
Rivals in the online furniture marketplace in India include Urban Ladder, Homelane and Livspace. Used furniture marketplaces like Zefo are also making their mark in the vertical; Zefo last month raised Rs40 crore (approximately $6 million) in a funding round led by Sequoia India.
