Norwest Venture Partners-backed Pepperfry, the omnichannel furniture retailing startup, has appointed Ambit to find a buyer amid flatlining sales. The mandate is to look for a potential buyer or even a strategic acquisition by a larger player if the deal terms are favourable, as the going gets tough for the 12-year-old company, sources said.
Growth has been a challenge for Pepperfry, which competes with players such as Reliance-owned Urban Ladder, Swedish giant IKEA, Peak XV-backed Wakefit and Westbridge-funded Wooden Street in a highly competitive market where profitability has been a challenge.
Pepperfry clocked revenue of Rs 207 crore in FY19 but could only grow its top line to Rs 290 crore by the end of FY23, data from Tracxn, a private markets data provider, shows.
Pepperfry is exploring a sale after attempts at an initial public offering (IPO) failed. The talks come at a time when the company has weathered the demise of its co-founder and former CEO Ambareesh Murty in August 2023. Murty was largely seen as the driving force behind the startup and had scaled the company over the past years.
Pepperfry was last valued at around $330 million but sought a valuation of around $200-220 million.
