Ratan Tata invests in Urban Ladder

MUMBAI: After making personal investments in e-commerce major Snapdeal and online jewellery store Bluestone, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus, Tata Sons is now laying a wager on furniture e-tailer Urban Ladder.

Tata's investment comes just four months after the Bangalore-based startup raised $21 million in a second round of funding from Hong Kong's Steadview Capital and its existing investors, as reported first by TOI in July this year. The undisclosed investment amount from Tata comes at a time when the country's online commerce market is witnessing frenetic growth leading to top dollar being funnelled into the sector.

"He (Tata) understands the furniture space very well, specially our focus on product design since he has a lot of knowledge of the subject. His inputs and guidance will be very valuable for us," said Ashish Goel, CEO & co-founder of the two-year-old company. "We are extremely proud that Urban Ladder caught his attention. His investment in the company reassures us of the path we have taken towards creating value for customers with great products and exceptional service," Goel said.

Urban Ladder was launched in July 2012 by IIT & IIM graduates Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa and competes with other online furniture retailers, including Pepperfry and Rocket Internet-backed Fab Furnish, in a category which is growing steadily and has attracted interest from e-commerce biggies like Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal. The impending launch of Swedish furniture

giant IKEA is likely to stir up the largely unorganized furniture market in India, which is estimated at $8-10 billion. The e-tailer has so far raised around $30 million in risk capital with investors like Steadview Capital, SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital on board.



Urban Ladder offers as many as 30 sub-categories, presently which are divided into core, distinctive and unique offerings. The e-tailer aims to have 10% unique offerings, 20-25% distinctive products while the rest would come under its core offerings.



Source:-http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Ratan-Tata-invests-in-Urban-Ladder/articleshow/45154040.cms