The dramatic shifts in the business world due to the COVID-19 pandemic was felt across sectors. Rental furniture startups in India found themselves in a beneficial position as people moved back to cities and workplaces after restrictions were lifted.
Furniture rental startup is now eyeing a 20x growth in the next two to three years, owing to the boost in its revenues. Geetansh Bamania, Founder and CEO of Rentomojo, said that the startup clocked in Rs 100 crore revenue in FY21 and turned profitable in October 2021.
The startup raised Rs 145 crore in a mix of debt and equity this November. The debt round accounted for Rs 130 crore and Rs 15 crore were brought in by existing investors such as Accel and Bain Capital.
“We want to build and get quality demand. We will be focusing a lot more on our bottom line,” says Geetansh.
Geetansh Bamania, CEO, Rentomojo
Founded in 2014 by Geetansh and Ajay Nain, Rentomojo runs under Edunetwork Pvt Ltd. Its core categories include living room furniture, beds, television, washing machines, among others. The ‘Work From Home’ category saw a surge in demand for a while when its contribution grew from 9 percent to 25 percent.
According to Geetansh, this category is back to around 12-13 percent and he expects it to stay at this level.
“The demand for most of our core products have come back to pre-COVID-19 levels in terms of the contribution, whereas in terms of the volume, it has only increased that, which means more number of people have started opting for rental,” he says.
Considering this surge in demand, Geetansh says the startup conducted a study about where people went when the onslaught of the pandemic had just begun. Based on this sequence, the Bengaluru based startup is planning its launch into more cities.
It is planning to expand its presence in Mysuru, Jaipur, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, and Kolkata. The startup has already launched in Ahmedabad and according to Geetansh, has already become profitable in six months.
For a developing economy like India, there is a lot of interstate migration and within the cities. To facilitate this movement seamlessly, Geetansh opines the use of rental furniture.
“Give them the flexibility to move around from city to city without having to bear the burden of the assets,” he says.
