Bengaluru-based Urban Ladder Home Décor Solutions Pvt. Ltd, which operates furniture e-tailer Urban Ladder, has reported a steep rise in consolidated revenue and shrank its loss for the year through March 2017.
Consolidated net sales jumped 70% to Rs 95 crore from Rs 56 crore for 2015-16, according to documents filed with the Registrar of Companies. Consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 156 crore from Rs 182 crore.
On a standalone basis, Urban Ladder reported 22% growth in revenue for 2016-17 to Rs 42.1 crore from Rs 34.4 crore the year before. Standalone net loss shrank to Rs 160 crore from Rs 181 crore, as expenses fell 7% to Rs 215 crore from Rs 231 crore.
The narrower loss is a positive development for Urban Ladder as the company had reported a four-fold rise in loss during 2015-16.
An Urban Ladder spokesperson said in an email that the company doesn’t comment on its financial performance. The spokesperson also said that the company’s offline expansion is still in its early days with three stores in Bangalore currently, and a fourth one coming up soon.
“The offline stores have been performing remarkably well and have a healthy contribution to the overall revenue...We have been expanding our omnichannel presence steadily, delivering to over 75 cities in India and will be looking at offline expansion in a new city very soon," the spokesperson said.
The company was founded in 2012 by Ashish Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa. It has raised a total of $90 million from investors including Ratan Tata, SAIF Partners, Kalaari Capital and Sequoia Capital. Its latest funding round was in February last year when it mopped up around $15 million.
The company had recently secured a licence as a single-brand retail firm after the government allowed 100% foreign direct investment in the segment. The e-tailer has a tie-up with Amazon, where the company lists its products, and has also been ramping up its offline presence to grow its revenue.
Urban Ladder’s biggest competitor is Mumbai-based TrendSutra Platform Services Pvt. Ltd, which runs furniture e-tailer Pepperfry. Owing to its rapid offline expansion, Pepperfry grew its standalone revenue to Rs 114.9 crore for 2016-17 from Rs 91.5 crore the year before. It reported a standalone loss of Rs 128.9 crore for 2016-17 compared with a loss of Rs 154.9 crore for the previous year.
Founded in January 2012 by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, Pepperfry has raised a total of $160 million in funding from investors like Goldman Sachs Group, Zodius Technology Fund, Norwest Venture Partners and Bertelsmann India Investments.
*This article has been updated to include a comment from an Urban Ladder spokesperson.
