India’s Furlenco raises $140 million for its furniture and appliance renting service

Furlenco, a Bangalore-based startup that operates an eponymous furniture and appliance rental service, said today it has raised $140 million in a financing round as it looks to scale its operations in the South Asian market and explore international market expansion.

The new $140 million financing round, a Series D, comprises $120 million debt raise and rest in equity, the seven-year-old Indian startup told TechCrunch. The new financing round was led by Zinnia Global Fund. CE-Ventures and Lightbox Ventures also participated in this round, which brings its to-date debt and equity raise to over $240 million, according to data insight platform Tracxn.

Furlenco, which operates in more than a dozen Indian cities, allows customers to rent a range of furniture items. In recent quarters, it has expanded to other categories including fitness equipments, appliances, electronic products, as well as two-wheeler vehicles.

A queen size bed on the platform, for instance, starts at as low as $9 a month, while a laptop can be rented for as low as a monthly plan of $40. The startup has attracted customers in part because of its three-day delivery commitment, and deep cleaning of items at no additional cost. It also maintains a partnership with NoBroker, a General Atlantic-backed Indian startup that helps customers avoid brokers when finding new apartments.

The expansion into newer categories helped the startup recover and preserve 95% of its revenue in the financial year that ended in March this year, it said. Lightbox Ventures said Furlenco may explore expansion into Middle East and other international markets.

The startup, which competes with Rentomojo, said it will deploy the fresh capital to fuel its growth and also invest in design and also work to generate an annual revenue of $300 million in the next five years.

“Lifestyles have evolved and so have the needs of the urban Indian when it comes to how they do up their home. However, the furniture industry has some catching up to do in providing the right kind of solutions. We know there is immense strength and scope of innovation in the B2C commerce space and the sectors we operate in. We are tapping into that potential and will definitely disrupt the market with what we are planning,” said Ajith Mohan Karimpana, founder and chief executive of Furlenco, in a statement.

Rent platforms, like many others, saw a major dip last year when the coronavirus hit the country. But the market it’s going after remains a big opportunity. According to industry estimates, the rental furniture and appliance industry is currently worth over $4.5 billion.

“We are excited to partner with Furlenco, which is rapidly transforming Furniture subscription services for India’s lifestyle aspirants. As an industry leader with a strong management team, Furlenco is poised for continued strong growth,” said Ritesh Abbi, Zinnia Global Fund.