By Samuel Joseph
A few years ago, the first time I saw the name ‘Pepperfry.com’ I could not place it properly. But I realised that it’s an interesting name, in the furniture e-commerce category. Then, when I met Mr. Ashish Shah, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Pepperfry,all my doubts were dispelled. His frank & dynamic style impressed me. Surely, Pepperfry will soon become a unicorn with the speed it moves ahead of competition.
I was one of the media invitees to have a look at their warehouse and the goings-on there at Bhiwandi, a growing hub of warehousing close to Thane in Maharashtra. Accidentally, I called it go-down. Mr. Shah corrected me by saying this is one of their warehouses near Mumbai. And ‘warehouse’ is the right word.
Mr. Shah, a dynamic entrepreneur in the e-commerce field, spoke for 60-minutes or so, keeping the media persons on their toes.
The question of why the name pepperfry popped up from the media. “Well, pepperfry is derived from one of the spices from our country. When it is fried with oil, it splutters and releases a nice aroma. We thought, after consulting professional organisations, it’s the correct name,” said Mr. Shah.
“Today we have Studios (offline shops) in most of the places. They are for the feel of our products and ordering furniture. If it’s Sheesham wood one can have the experience of feeling it and also by tapping a showcased product get the best idea about the wood we are showing for the customer.”
These studios offer the customer a different experience of what you want to buy and get the feeling of the furniture they exhibit. One can choose & order as per the dimensions they want. “Our studios give you a unique experience. We are not selling like others who have huge space for showing all their wares. Our Studios are compact & give you a glimpse of what you want to buy”, says Mr. Ashish.
After the briefing with a load of information, Mr. Ashish and his team, including Mr. Piyush Agarwal, Head of Supply Chain, Pepperfry and Mr. Gaurav Kumar, Regional Manager, SCM, took the media persons around the warehouse.
The Bhiwandi warehouse includes right from where the furniture is kept and to the supply chain end. Here Quality is the watchword. The furniture is kept neatly and carefully. Small cranes and forklifts are used to do the works.
A good round of the media visit gave the impression as to how goods (in various furniture forms) are kept and delivered to the buyers.Each of these offerings on the warehouse site are built on the premise of creating superior consumer experiences, which is the cornerstone of its brand motto: Happy furniture to you!
Pepperfry started in 2012 and its been 10 years young furniture, and decor company, has managed to succeed in a complex category like furniture where 90% of the furniture market is un-organised and a lot of organised brands who dared to venture in this category, could not sustain eventually.
However, Pepperfry maintained a consistent growth ever since its launch. It has achieved a CAGR of more than 80%. Despite the poor economic conditions, Pepperfry aspires to be a billion-dollar company soon.
Pepperfry Limited, also popularly known as Pepperfry, had an authorized share capital Rs. 1,017.00 crore and the total paid-up capital is Rs 63.35 cr. Pepperfry’s operating revenues range is Rs. 100 crore to 500 crore for the financial year ending on 31 March, 2021.t’s EBITDA has increased by 60.75% over the previous year. According to TOFLER, a reliable database for leading media houses.
(Read our earlier story on Pepperfry)
LINK: https://bit.ly/3R46z2q
