Online furnishing startup raises startup HomeLane raises $3.54 Mn.
Online interior designing service startup HomeLane has secured $3.54 Mn (INR 24 Cr) in a fresh funding round from Brand Capital, investment arm of media conglomerate Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd (parent company of English daily Times of India). Until the latest funding, the Bengaluru based startup had raised total funds of $64.5 Mn (Rs 413 Cr) from high profile VC firms like Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital and others.
HomeLane plans to channelize the latest capital infusion for business expansion and enhancing its brand value to attract new customers. The startup also has offline showrooms in cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Gurgaon.
Incorporated in 2014, HomeLane offers interior designing services through online and offline services. It has hired dedicated team of interior designers who are responsible for offering perfect fit-to-home interior designing services to customers.
The company on the onset guarantees to complete any project within the span of 45 days. It claims to have completed so far 2500 projects within this challenging deadline.
As the online furnishing market grows, several startups over the years have emerged to cater to the increasing demand. Some of the big names in this space include Urban Ladder, LivSpace, Pepperfry and FabFurnish. Almost all these startups have been decently funded and some of them have acquired strong brand value in the market.
However, the lack of big funding round & high market valuation strongly indicates that investors are still wary about the online furnishing market. Experts claim that investor’s cautious approach may be due to the fact that India’s online furnishing market still doesn’t have the headroom to register consistently robust growth. This may be due to the fact that the online furnishing market is by and large restricted to urban and first tier cities.
