[The F-word] Jaipur startup Woodenstreet raises $1 million from Yatra investor RVCF

Online furniture seller Woodenstreet plans to use the funds to expand in new business verticals and take their experience stores beyond Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Jaipur.

Jaipur-based online furniture seller Woodenstreet has raised $1 million in Series A funding from Rajasthan Venture Capital Funds (RVCF), an investor in NASDAQ-listed Yatra.com. RVCF invests in seed, early, and mid-stage companies, operating in high-growth sectors with sustainable revenue models.

Co-founded by Lokendra Ranawat, Dinesh Pratap Singh, and Virendra Ranawat, in May 2015, Woodenstreet provides custom-made solid wood furniture at low price points. Wooden Street provides a catalogue of pre-made designs. Customers can request modifications as per their requirements, or directly interact with specialised designers to have something built for them. Customisation is also offered on the types of wood used, finishes, fabric types, colours, etc.

Woodenstreet will use this round of investment to expand in new business verticals such as complete interior design services. A press release from the company says with experience stores in place across Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Jaipur, the new funds will also be used to expand and open stores at other major serviceable cities.

Woodenstreet Co-founder Lokendra Ranawat said in the statement, “Due to widespread diversity, every single home is different, which is why we believe custom-made and space-saving furniture was just not a trend but the future. We wanted every customer to own furniture of their choice in the most compact manner.”

Starting with an initial capital of Rs 5 lakh, the team claims that they touched annual sales revenue of Rs 20 crore in November 2017. They had also said that their monthly revenue was Rs 1.5 crore, with over 10,000 visits per day. The Woodenstreet team now has over 200 members across multiple locations, and delivers across 30 major cities.

According to a Research and Markets report, the furniture market in India will grow to $27 billion by 2022. Only about 10 percent of the industry is organised, with a fraction of that online. Mumbai-based Pepperfry and Bengaluru-based UrbanLadder are leading the online furniture market, while horizontal player Flipkart is also establishing itself in the space. Woodenstreet, however, claims that their unique differentiation is providing tailor-made furniture to the specifications of a customer, while others provide only ready-made furniture.