Livspace, one of the largest home design and renovation platforms in India, announced that it received minority investment funding from Ingka Investments — which is the investment arm of Ingka Group (Ingka Holding B.V and its controlled entities).
Ingka Group is a strategic partner in the IKEA franchise system — which represents 90% of total IKEA retail sales through 367 stores in 30 markets including India.
Livspace is going to deploy this funding round across areas like new home interior solutions and products, market expansion, and a growing offline footprint.
“We are thrilled to welcome onboard Ingka Group and a world-class brand like IKEA. We look forward to the immense collaboration possibilities in areas such as catalog and marketplace integration, retail technology, and online-to-offline innovations,” said Livspace co-founder and CEO Anuj Srivastava in a statement. “Livspace aims to make good living accessible to millions. This investment is a step in that direction. On one hand, the investment gives us the opportunity to create one of the best omnichannel interiors and furniture purchase experience for homeowners. On the other hand, interior designers and vendors can anticipate a richer design and supply experience.”
Ever since Srivastava, Ramakant Sharma, and Shagufta Anurag launched Livspace in 2015, it has become one of the top organized players in fragmented home interiors and renovation market. Last year, Livspace raised $70 million in Series C with TPG Growth and Goldman Sachs joining as investors. That round marked the largest Series C round ever raised by a vertical e-commerce company in India and was one of the biggest in Southeast Asia.
“Convenience and personalization are becoming increasingly important to the future of home furnishing and customers life at home and we believe Livspace has created a digital platform that has the potential to transform a customer’s home furnishing journey. This minority investment aligns closely with the digital direction of Ingka Group and our core business, IKEA Retail, and we are looking forward to exploring new opportunities together with Livspace,” added Ingka Group’s head of investments.
Livspace has a three-sided marketplace that brings together homeowners and a curated community of designers and vendors. And with Livspace, homeowners get access to interiors for all rooms in a home, which is designed and delivered in a hassle-free manner.
In 2016, Livspace launched a proprietary design-to-installation platform called Canvas. The Canvas cloud platform offers a unique experience for homeowners and scales the job of interior designers.
Currently, Livspace is available in 9 metro areas in India including Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Mumbai, Thane, and Pune. And the company also has a network of four Design Centers and 15 experience apartments all over the country.
