Urban Ladder, one of the leading online furniture retail startup, has been given a single brand retail trade licence from the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP).
The license will help the company in building its offline retail brand, which it has been planning to do so from quite some time. Ashish Goel, CEO of the company, said,
The SBRT licence is a huge vote of confidence and encouragement from the government to young, Indian companies like ours. This licence helps us at Urban Ladder build a brand that can pursue its ambitions as well as help shape the economy impactfully.
The Bengaluru-based startup had applied for the single brand retail trade license in September last year as a strategic shift to be an offline retailer.
With license now being granted to the company, it will give the Bengaluru-based company more flexibility with its designs and product sourcing. It will also help in tightening its supply chain and maintaining healthy inventory.
Urban Ladder launched its first experience center in Bengaluru earlier this year. The experience center will now be converted into a retail store as a result of the licence approval. Going further, the company plans to set up more stores across the country.
The company was founded in the year 2012 by Ashish Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa. It has recently launched a new brand identity and is on course to widen offline distribution channels beyond company-owned centres.
In the company’s future plans, it aims to launch at least three experience centres in Bengaluru, and is exploring partnerships with large format retail stores. It aims to be profitable in the next 18-20 months along with plans to file for an IPO in three years.
Since its inception, it has raised more than $90 million in various funding rounds, and is backed by the likes of Kalaari Capital, Sequoia Capital, SAIF Partners, Steadview Capital, TR Capital and Tata Sons interim chairman Ratan Tata, Trifecta Capital, among others.