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Time of India
17 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Indian furniture brand WoodenStreet aims to quadruple revenue in 3 years, mulls IPO, CEO says
India's WoodenStreet aims to quadruple its revenue over the next three years by expanding its mattress and modular furniture businesses, and opening dozens of new stores, as it positions itself for a listing, its CEO told Reuters. India's $34 billion furniture sector has been rapidly growing in recent years, with demand for sofas, recliners, wardrobes and beds climbing, as younger consumers with more disposable incomes splurge online and upgrade more frequently. "The idea is (to touch 10 billion rupees ($115.90 million) in revenue) and profitability in the next three years... and going public," WoodenStreet founder and CEO Lokendra Ranawat said in an interview last week. WoodenStreet reported sales of 2.55 billion rupees and net loss of 109 million rupees in fiscal 2024, marking its first loss in at least half a decade, data from business insights provider Tofler showed. To hit its target, WoodenStreet is aggressively expanding into the mattress category with its new "Penguin Sleep" brand, Ranawat said, tapping into post-pandemic consumer focus on wellness, while also making a strong push in modular furniture. WestBridge Capital-backed WoodenStreet, which late last year raised $43 million from Premgi Invest to boost its workforce and manufacturing, sells furniture, from sofa to decor, online and also runs 104 stores across India. Ranawat said WoodenStreet plans to triple its store count within 18-24 months, focussing on major cities, while also considering opportunities in smaller ones. WoodenStreet's rival Wakefit filed for an initial public offering last month, while Duroflex, which also owns the "Sleepyhead" mattress brand, said in April it was looking to go public in the next 18 months. When asked if WoodenStreet would consider a deal akin to Reliance's purchase of its peer Urban Ladder, Ranawat said: "The target is to make it a sustainable and long-term independent brand."
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Business Standard
a day ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Furniture brand WoodenStreet aims to boost revenue in 3 years, mulls IPO
The CEO Lokendra Ranawat said WoodenStreet plans to triple its store count within 18-24 months, focussing on major cities, while also considering opportunities in smaller ones Reuters India's WoodenStreet aims to quadruple its revenue over the next three years by expanding its mattress and modular furniture businesses, and opening dozens of new stores, as it positions itself for a listing, its CEO told Reuters. India's $34 billion furniture sector has been rapidly growing in recent years, with demand for sofas, recliners, wardrobes and beds climbing, as younger consumers with more disposable incomes splurge online and upgrade more frequently. "The idea is (to touch 10 billion rupees ($115.90 million) in revenue) and profitability in the next three years... and going public," WoodenStreet founder and CEO Lokendra Ranawat said in an interview last week. WoodenStreet reported sales of 2.55 billion rupees and net loss of 109 million rupees in fiscal 2024, marking its first loss in at least half a decade, data from business insights provider Tofler showed. To hit its target, WoodenStreet is aggressively expanding into the mattress category with its new "Penguin Sleep" brand, Ranawat said, tapping into post-pandemic consumer focus on wellness, while also making a strong push in modular furniture. WestBridge Capital-backed WoodenStreet, which late last year raised $43 million from Premgi Invest to boost its workforce and manufacturing, sells furniture, from sofa to decor, online and also runs 104 stores across India. Ranawat said WoodenStreet plans to triple its store count within 18-24 months, focussing on major cities, while also considering opportunities in smaller ones. WoodenStreet's rival Wakefit filed for an initial public offering last month, while Duroflex, which also owns the "Sleepyhead" mattress brand, said in April it was looking to go public in the next 18 months. When asked if WoodenStreet would consider a deal akin to Reliance's purchase of its peer Urban Ladder, Ranawat said: "The target is to make it a sustainable and long-term independent brand." (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Economic Times
a day ago
- Business
- Economic Times
Indian furniture brand WoodenStreet aims to quadruple revenue in 3 years, mulls IPO, CEO says
India's WoodenStreet aims to quadruple its revenue over the next three years by expanding its mattress and modular furniture businesses, and opening dozens of new stores, as it positions itself for a listing, its CEO told Reuters. ADVERTISEMENT India's $34 billion furniture sector has been rapidly growing in recent years, with demand for sofas, recliners, wardrobes and beds climbing, as younger consumers with more disposable incomes splurge online and upgrade more frequently. "The idea is (to touch 10 billion rupees ($115.90 million) in revenue) and profitability in the next three years... and going public," WoodenStreet founder and CEO Lokendra Ranawat said in an interview last week. WoodenStreet reported sales of 2.55 billion rupees and net loss of 109 million rupees in fiscal 2024, marking its first loss in at least half a decade, data from business insights provider Tofler showed. To hit its target, WoodenStreet is aggressively expanding into the mattress category with its new "Penguin Sleep" brand, Ranawat said, tapping into post-pandemic consumer focus on wellness, while also making a strong push in modular furniture. WestBridge Capital-backed WoodenStreet, which late last year raised $43 million from Premgi Invest to boost its workforce and manufacturing, sells furniture, from sofa to decor, online and also runs 104 stores across India. ADVERTISEMENT Ranawat said WoodenStreet plans to triple its store count within 18-24 months, focussing on major cities, while also considering opportunities in smaller ones. WoodenStreet's rival Wakefit filed for an initial public offering last month, while Duroflex, which also owns the "Sleepyhead" mattress brand, said in April it was looking to go public in the next 18 months. ADVERTISEMENT When asked if WoodenStreet would consider a deal akin to Reliance's purchase of its peer Urban Ladder, Ranawat said: "The target is to make it a sustainable and long-term independent brand." ($1 = 86.2800 Indian rupees) ADVERTISEMENT (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Subscription-based grocery provider Otipy shuts shop; impacts 300 employees
Subscription-based grocery provider Otipy shut operations last week, impacting around 300 employees in addition to gig workers, including delivery partners , said people aware of the development. Founder and CEO Varun Khurana is understood to have told the company's employees about the decision last week at a townhall meeting. The WestBridge Capital-backed startup has reportedly withheld salary payments to employees as well as delayed payments to vendors. This development comes amid a downturn for grocery subscription services, which have struggled since the rise of quick commerce platforms. The rapid 10-minute delivery model has also impacted sales at traditional kirana stores. It raised around a total of $44 million in equity and debt, as per data intelligence platform Tracxn. Its last financing was a $2 million debt by Nuvama Asset Management. Khurana did not respond to text messages seeking comment. Live Events Founded in June 2020, the Delhi-NCR based business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) startup was set up as a subsidiary of Khurana's agritech firm Crofarm India. It connected end consumers to farmers via a community of resellers who handled the last-mile delivery of fruits and vegetables operating in Mumbai and Delhi-NCR. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories As per Tracxn, the company generated a revenue of around Rs 164 crore in FY24, up from Rs 115 crore a year ago. The development was first reported by Inc42. Due to challenges in the grocery subscription model because of the rise in quick commerce, BBdaily, the subscription service by Tata Digital-backed firm BigBasket, which used to run as a separate app was merged into the main BigBasket app in September last year. However, direct-to-consumer (D2C) fresh foods brand Country Delight, which offers direct-to-home delivery of fresh food essentials like milk, ghee, paneer, fruits, and vegetables, continues to operate under a daily subscription model. Meanwhile, the quick commerce industry has grown to $ 7.1 billion in FY25 from $300 million in FY22, as per the Indus Valley 2025 report by venture capital firm Blume Ventures. Otipy is the latest among startups that have shut operations. Insurtech startup Kenko Health , upskilling and job finding platform Bluelearn , social media app Koo , artificial intelligence-led software startup Nintee and spiritual tech startup My Tirth India , sales software provider for product-led companies Toplyne have folded up over the past few months
Time of India
28-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Rapido likely to run food delivery pilot in Bengaluru soon
Bike taxi platform Rapido is expected to launch a pilot programme for its food delivery service in Bengaluru in the coming weeks, said people briefed on the developments. To begin with, the WestBridge Capital-backed company is planning to tap into larger restaurant chains and has been in discussions with the likes of India franchisee operators of McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut, as well as other quick service restaurants and cloud kitchen chains that see high order frequency. 'Initially, the focus will be on delivering from larger restaurant chains for a shorter distance. These chains have among the most dense networks of outlets in top cities from where deliveries of up to 5 km can be made,' said one of the persons, who did not wish to be identified. 'A substantial part of the orders come from these large chains whereas the long tail of smaller outlets gives a broader choice to the consumers.' For the quarter ended December 2024, Zomato had 306,000 average monthly active restaurant partners for food delivery, while Swiggy – which is one of the investors in Rapido – had 243,400. Swiggy and Rapido have Dutch investor Prosus as a common backer. 'Zomato and Swiggy have around Rs 400-450 AOV (average order value) for their food delivery… and even though they've started low-cost, pocket friendly options to expand their TAM (total addressable market), there's a very large base of consumers to be tapped into where AOVs will be not more than Rs 250, where Rapido will have its play,' said another person. 'Many restaurants increase prices while listing on aggregators to adjust for the commission that is levied on them. The subscription model lowers the cost for the restaurants that can be passed on to the consumers,' this person added. ET was the first to report, on March 12, about Rapido entering the food delivery segment, saying the company will take the subscription model route that it has deployed for four-wheeler ride-hailing. Rapido will charge restaurants a fixed periodical subscription fee for access to the platform and a per order delivery fee, against a percentage commission rate levied by incumbent operators Zomato and Swiggy, according to people in the know. Rapido did not respond to queries emailed by ET. Game plan For the Bengaluru-based company, which closed a $200-million round led by WestBridge Capital in September 2024, the focus is on finding new areas of growth, with food delivery and insurance distribution being on the cards. The company crossed $1 billion in gross merchandise value last fiscal. 'Rapido has grown fast in ride-hailing thanks to the subscription model in three-wheelers and four-wheelers… but it has managed to show this growth because it's come late and is displacing the likes of Ola in the market. The ride-hailing market itself, however, isn't growing that rapidly, making it imperative for the company to find new streams for future growth,' said an investor. ET had reported on April 1 that in the four-wheeler ride-hailing segment, Rapido had more than 20 per cent market share (and growing), with Uber having 50 per cent and Ola 30 per cent share. However, the startup's move into food delivery comes at a time when growth in the food delivery segment, which is the biggest revenue generator for Zomato and Swiggy, has been slowing. In an interview with ET last month, Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato-parent Eternal , had flagged systemic issues with the food delivery segment, indicating that the publicly listed company would take fresh initiatives to address these hurdles. As per brokerage firm Bernstein, Gurgaon-based Zomato has a 57.1 per cent market share in food delivery while Swiggy has the remaining 42.9 per cent . The segment has also seen new players and services being introduced over the past few months, especially for 10-minute food delivery. These include offerings from quick commerce companies including Zepto and Eternal-owned Blinkit, in addition to standalone players such as Accel-backed Swish.
