Reliance Retail has obtained a major stake in the furniture startup, Urban Ladder, turning it into an eCommerce giant in India by putting into competition likes of Flipkart and Amazon.
In a recent filing, Reliance Retail stated that it had obtained around 96% stake in the startup. The Indian retail giant stated that it had proposed to invest around $10.06 million more in Urban Ladder by the end of 2023.
Founded back in 2012, Urban Ladder sells many decor products and home furniture online. It also has many physical stores in many Indian cities.
Previously, the startup raised around $115 million from SAIF Partners, Sequoia Capital, MIT, Steadview Capital, and several other investors, according to Tracxn. In the financial year ending in March, the startup reported an overall loss of $6.63 million around a turnover of $58.2 million.
Reliance Retail released a statement which said, “This investment will enable our digital commerce initiatives. It will also widen the consumer products provided by the group. Moreover, it will also increase the experience and user engagement around retail offerings.”
Urban Ladder is the latest acquisition for Reliance Retail; it also entered into a $3.4 billion deal with Future Group to buy India’s second-largest retail chain’s businesses. Moreover, Reliance obtained a 60% stake in pharma marketplace Netmed’s parent Vitalic for $83.2 million.
Reliance Retail, a part of Reliance Industries, has banked around $6.4 billion in recent months. Moreover, its subsidiary, Jio Platforms, obtained $20 billion this year from Google, Facebook, and other High-profile investors.
Reliance Retail serves more than 3.5 million customers through its 10,000 physical stores, 6,500 towns, and cities in the country. The retail giant entered the e-commerce market through a joint venture with Jio Platforms. Now, JioMart is present in over 200 Indian towns and cities. Moreover, it has a partnership with Facebook for WhatsApp integration.
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