Online furniture marketplace Pepperfry, which has opened its largest tech-led warehouse in Bengaluru, gears up for an initial public offering (IPO) in 12-15 months, according to a top company executive.
“We plan to file for an IPO in the next 12-15 months,” Ambareesh Murty told Mint in an exclusive interaction on the sidelines of a select media tour cum launch of the warehouse.
“The company is on a clear path to full-year profitability by FY21 though we will get very close to being profitable by this October itself,” Murty said. Established in 2012, Pepperfry has so far raised close to $200 million of funding from investors such as Norwest Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, State Street Global Advisors, and Bertelsmann India Investments.
The Bengaluru warehouse which also serves as a fulfilment centre, is among the company’s three large “mother hubs” along with two others in Mumbai and Gurugram. It is also touted as the most technologically-advanced though the Mumbai unit is the largest in terms of size.
Murty said South India is the largest market for the company with a share of 40% followed by West and North regions with 30% market share each. “The facility is well placed to cater to the surging demand in South India thereby resulting in reduced transit times, reduction in long haul movement costs and decline in return rates,” he added.
According to Pepperfry, the warehouse has an order processing capacity of 1,000 orders per day and a storage capacity of up to 30,000 units of inventory. Currently, across India, the online retailer receives an average of 3,000 orders per day.
Pepperfry has more than 4.5 million registered users and 58% of its transactions come from repeat buyers. It offers buyers an omni-channel strategy such that they get a seamless experience across web, mobile, and physical stores. Currently, 60% of their orders come from mobile devices with an equal share from the app and mobile web.
This article was first published on livemint.com.
