Pepperfry Limited, formerly known as Pepperfry, is an Indian online marketplace for

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

and

home décor Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

. The company was founded in July 2011 by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, and is headquartered in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. As of 2023, Pepperfry has 43 company-owned studios and 142 studios operating under its franchise model. In May 2022, the company became a public company and announced plans to list on stock exchanges.

History

Pepperfry was founded in

in 2011 by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah, both former

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

executives. The company opened its first offline store in

in 2014 and expanded to over 70 stores across 28 cities in India by 2019. It currently operates 43 company-owned studios in 13 cities and 142 franchise-owned studios in 109 cities, along with a logistics network, PepCart. In 2020, Pepperfry entered the home interior space through partnerships with companies such as Hettich, Bosch,

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...

, Kajaria, and

Gyproc Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thick ...

, among others. Pepperfry has warehouses in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

, and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. In 2023, it added a fifth warehouse in Bangalore's

Hoskote Hoskote (historically known as Ooscota or Ooscata) is a taluk in Bangalore Rural District, India. Headquartered at the Hosakote town, it consists of five hoblis - Anugondanahalli, Jadigenahalli, Kasaba, Nandagudi and Sulibele. History Hoskote ...

area. In 2023, Pepperfry appointed Ashish Shah as the new CEO after the demise of former chief, Ambareesh Murty.

Funding

Pepperfry has raised a total of $285.3 million through ten funding rounds. In 2011, the company secured $5 million in its initial funding round, followed by an additional $8 million in a Series B funding round in 2013. Both funding rounds were led by Norwest Venture Partners India (NVP). In May 2015, Pepperfry raised $15 million in a Series C funding round, with participation from Bertelsmann India Investments and NVP. In July 2015, the company raised $100 million in a Series D funding round. This round included investments from early backers as well as notable investors such as

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

and Zodius Technology Fund. In 2016, Pepperfry raised a total of $69 million in a Series E funding round, with

State Street Global Advisors State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) is the investment management division of State Street Corporation and the world's fourth largest asset manager, with nearly $4.14 trillion (USD) in assets under management as of 31 December 2021. The company ...

and existing investors contributing to the funding. In 2020, Pepperfry secured $40 million in a Series F funding round, with

Pidilite Industries Pidilite Industries Limited is an Indian adhesives manufacturing company based in Andheri (East), Mumbai. The company is the dominant and leading adhesives company in India. Pidilite also manufactures products across verticals such as art mater ...

taking the lead as the main investor. In 2021, Pepperfry raised $5 million in funding, and later on, an additional $40 million through a round of debt funding. The investors in this round included Norwest Venture, General Electric Pension Trust, and 45 family businesses and trusts.

Marketing and campaigns

Pepperfry launched the ''Swadeshi Is Great'' campaign in 2023 to celebrate and support local artisans and their products.

Awards and recognition

* 2012 Red Herring Asia Top 100 award. * 2014: Awarded the "Pure-Play e-Retailer of the Year" at the Indian e-Retail Congress. * 2019:

Entrepreneur magazine ''Entrepreneur'' is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. The magazine was first published in 1977. It is published by ''Entrepreneur Media Inc''., headquartere ...

recognized Pepperfry as one of the top 10 startups.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Online retailers of India Companies based in Mumbai Furniture companies of India Indian brands Retail companies established in 2011 Retail companies of India Furniture retailers of India Indian companies established in 2011 2011 establishments in India