Global private equity (PE) firm TPG-backed online home décor startup Livspace has joined the coveted unicorn club following a $180 million raise as a part of its Series F funding round led by KKR & Co.
Unicorns are private companies with over $1 billion valuation. Livspace, operated by Home Interior Designs E-commerce Pvt Ltd, thus, becomes the fifth unicorn of 2022, and the 49th company to be valued at over $1 billion since January 2021.
While other financial details were not disclosed, the company said in a statement that KKR will be making this investment in Livspace from its Asia next generation technology strategy. KKR last backed eyewear retailer Lenskart in India in 2021.
The Series F funding round saw participation from existing investors such as Ingka Group (IKEA), Jungle Ventures, Venturi Partners, Peugeot Investments and others, according to the company said. The fund raise has valued the company at over $1.3 billion, hinted Anuj Srivastava, Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer of Livspace, during a virtual interaction.
Livspace plans to use the funds for global expansion, brand building, and mergers and acquisitions, according to Srivastava. "A significant portion of the funds will go into expanding in newer geographies including the UAE and Middle East, and further expansion in Singapore and India. We are also advancing our plans to start evaluating venturing into Australia and it will be a very important geography for us."
Srivastava added that Livspace will be investing in online mass media-oriented brand building, starting with Singapore and India, following which "you will also see us building strategic relationships, and making mergers and acquisitions as we are really looking to consolidate the market”.
The company recently bought a majority stake in Qanvast, a Singapore-based home remodeling and design platform connecting homeowners and home professionals. Srivastava said future acquisitions will also be focussed on either consolidation of Livspace’s brand or content companies that will help Livspace in building its brand.
Livspace currently has presence in 28 cities in India including Bangalore, Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai, according to Srivastava. The company plans to penetrate deeper into the country and aims to have a presence in about 65 to 70 cities by end of 2023, Srivastava said. Livspace is currently adding one city a month, Srivastava claimed.
Livspace currently generates about 79% of its revenue from India, with 21% coming from Singapore. As the company looks to expand its international operations, Srivastava expects international markets to contribute 50% to the company’s total sales, with the rest coming from India. Livspace is also looking to expand its product offerings, Srivastava said.
“We are actively experimenting and understanding the consumer experience innovation that we can bring to the table by offering more frequently consumed home improvement solutions. We carved out our modular interiors business unit, maybe about a year and a half ago and we're already the largest modular provider in the regions that we operate in. I think one area that could be interesting over a period of time is private labels in the material space. So, contractors, contract manufacturing, and so on and so forth, and also commercial interiors could be very, very interesting for us,” Srivastava said.
However, Srivastava added that these newer verticals would take time to contribute significantly to Livspace’s total revenue.
Livspace was founded by Srivastava, Shagufta Anurag, and Ramakant Sharma in 2015. Srivastava and Sharma were IIT Kanpur graduates, who earlier worked with ecommerce companies. Srivastava even headed product marketing and online advertising for many ecommerce companies in Silicon Valley. Anurag, on his part, is an architect by profession and had earlier founded Space Matrix, a corporate interior design company.
Livspace’s platform enables homeowners to discover thousands of pre-created looks for all rooms, kitchen, and storage areas in their homes at the click of a button. Customers need to select and purchase the designs that they like, which the company claims are created by international designers. Customers can also personalise designs. The company then delivers the items to customers’ homes.
Livspace partners with many real-estate developers in the country and also offers a ‘find your apartment’ feature to offer pre-created, ready-to-install interior design for customers who buy homes from partner real-estate developers.
According to Srivastava, new gross merchandise value (GMV) on Livspace’s platform is an important metric for the company and claimed that the company’s GMV runrate will be $350-400 million from next quarter onwards, starting April. Srivastava further expects the number to double over the next 12 months. Srivastava also said that the company’s India business is profitable, and Srivastava expects Livspace to be profitable on a company level in the next 12 to 18 months.