Furlenco raises $140 million for its furniture and appliance rental service in India

(This article originally appeared on TechCrunch on 5th July, 2021)

Startup Furlenco, which operates a rental service for furniture and appliances, said today it has raised $140 million in a funding round as it seeks to scale operations in South Asia and expand internationally.

The startup said the new $140 million financing round, a Series D round, is composed of $120 million of debt and the remainder in equity. Zinnia Global Fund led the new financing round. In addition to CE-Ventures and Lightbox Ventures, Tracxn reports that the company has raised over $240 million in debt and equity to date.

Customers can rent furniture items from Furlenco, which has operations in more than a dozen Indian cities. Recently, it has expanded to other categories, such as fitness equipment, appliances, electronic products, and two-wheelers.

Essentially, a queen-size bed on the platform will cost you as little as $9 a month, whereas a laptop will cost you as little as $40 a month. One reason why the company is attracting customers is that it offers free deep cleaning of items and promises to deliver them within three days. Also, it has a partnership with NoBroker, a General Atlantic-backed Indian startup that helps customers avoid brokers when searching for apartments.

During the financial year that ended in March this year, the startup recovered and preserved 95% of its revenue through expansion into new categories. Furlenco may expand into Middle East and other international markets, according to Lightbox Ventures.

In the next five years, the startup, which competes with Rentomojo, plans on generating $300 million in revenue annually and will also invest heavily in design.

As lifestyles have evolved, so have the needs of urban Indians in terms of adorning their homes. Nevertheless, the furniture industry has some catching up to do in terms of providing the right kind of solutions. As B2C commerce experts and operators in these markets, we know that there is immense scope for innovative solutions. Our plans for disruption will tap into that potential,” said Ajith Mohan Karimpana, founder and chief executive officer of Furlenco.

Several rental platforms experienced a major drop in business last year when the Coronavirus hit. Even so, it’s going after a big market. Currently, the rental furniture and appliance industry is worth over $4.5 billion, according to industry estimates.

“We are thrilled to partner with Furlenco, a company revolutionizing furniture subscriptions in India. “Furlenco is well positioned for continued strong growth as an industry leader,” said Ritesh Abbi of Zinnia Global Fund.