Key Highlights

  • Pepperfry said it controlled 60% of the online market share in the home and furniture segment.
  • The company is on course to accomplish a Rs 3,000-crore in revenue run-rate by March 2018 
  • The average ticket size for furniture is Rs 18,000 on Pepperfry and other home products is Rs 4,000.

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If you can’t buy it, rent it! An idiom commonly used for flats in high-rises will now be used for furniture as well. Pepperfry, furniture and home products market place, launched its furniture rental services for customers in select cities earlier this month.

The furniture rental services will be made available in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Noida and Ahmedabad.

Pepperfry said its website currently received 50 lakh views and providing the option of rent it hopes to garner more views.

“Most of the current options that consumers have today for renting furniture are very limited in nature and scope. There are less than 50 unique designs and are primarily utilitarian in nature across all the product groups. The Pepperfry offering is diverse and comprehensive – not only are we providing 5X – 10X more choices to consumers across price points and designs we are aiming to fulfill both the utility aspect and the aesthetic or design aspect that consumers are looking for,” Hussaine Kesury, Vice President and Head of Furniture Business at Pepperfry said.

Here are excerpts from the interview with Pepperfry’s Kesury.

1. How is the furniture sales business of Pepperfry working out in this financial year? 
Pepperfry is well on its path to build the largest omni-channel home and furniture business. We have 22 Studios across major cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Chandigarh, Faridabad and Gurugram. 

We have plans to establish 46 Studios by March 2018 in key cities via a robust franchisee model. Bolstering its position in the industry as the market leader in the Furniture segment in India – Pepperfry has launched a rental service that is expected to create a profound influence in the rental industry. 

Pepperfry has specialised large item delivery fleet of more than 400 vehicles operating from 17 hubs across India serving customers in 500 cities. In order to provide a seamless experience for the customer, Pepperfry also provides assembly and installation support through a team of more than 250 carpenters across major towns and cities.
  
With these concerted efforts, Pepperfry is on course to accomplish a Rs 3,000-crore in revenue run-rate by March 2018 and eventually help to reach of helping to build 20 million beautiful homes country by 2020.
 
2. What is your average order size?
Pepperfry offers a differentiated portfolio of 1.2 lakh products in the furniture and home vertical spread across various categories like Furniture, Home Décor, Lamps & Lighting, Furnishing, Kitchen, Housekeeping, Hardware and Electricals. The average ticket size for furniture is Rs 18,000. And other home products is Rs 4,000.
 
3. Pepperfry has been coming up with new schemes quite often. What made the company turn to renting furniture?
Pepperfry launched the furniture rental service for its discerning customers across Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Noida and Ahmedabad. Through this endeavour Pepperfry is offering customers an opportunity to rent furniture and other auxiliary products from an array of 1200+ notable options available at affordable rentals for a term of six/nine/12 months.
 
As per research, the new class of consumers that is participating in the sharing economy that consists of 22-35 year-old, online-savvy, migrant millennials across the country can spend upwards of USD 1 Billion per annum on Furniture and related items’ rentals alone. They are in a life stage where they value experiences more than ownership of physical assets. 

The furniture rentals business will help Pepperfry build and consolidate its franchise among this new class of consumers, thereby helping tap into not only a new segment but a segment that will grow and contribute hugely to the core Pepperfry furniture selling business in the coming years. 

Recognising a paradigm shift when it comes to ownership and how technology has ushered in an era of the ‘Rental Economy’, Pepperfry wanted to optimise this to the benefit of its uber-audience and offer convenient and economical solutions that will fuel the future of every home.

4. Would this move be considered a pivot from sales point of view?
Our foray into rentals business is in line with our vision to help beautify 20 million homes.  It strengthens our commitment towards Pepperfry customers to realise their dream homes, without having to necessarily “buy” the items.
 
5. What is the company's expectation from this vertical?
Under the Furniture Rental Services Pepperfry is offering more than 1200 unique SKUs to choose from across the country, in each of the cities mentioned above there will be more than 250+ unique items across key product groups such as – sofas, beds, wardrobes, dining sets, entertainment units, recliners, chairs, display units, etc. that will be available to the consumers. The 1200 unique pieces can be made into literally thousands of combinations for each home as per the budget and utility requirements of the consumers.   
 
Pepperfry understands the pulse of changing consumer needs and we are confident about pioneering a new way of helping customers create beautiful homes by offering them a convenient and economical solution that will fuel the future economy.

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