After Snapdeal, Bluestone, Ratan Tata invests in Urban Ladder

Business doyen Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons has made yet another private investment, this time in Bangalore-based online furniture company Urban Ladder.

This is Ratan Tata's third investment in the e-commerce space after investing in online retailer Snapdeal in August and online jewellery store Bluestone. (Ratan Tata invests in Snapdeal as Tata Value ties up online home sales).

Announcing the development today, Urban Ladder did not disclose the amount Tata has invested.

The investment comes four months after Urban Ladder raised Series B funding from Steadview Capital and existing investors SAIF Partners and Kalaari Capital. It has so far raised $27 million from these investors.

The total furniture market in India is worth around $15 billion, and is expected to grow 20-30 per cent annually.

The home décor and furniture space in not an entirely new field for Ratan Tata, a design enthusiast who holds a degree in Architecture from Cornell University.

 ''Tata understands the furniture space very well, specially our focus on product design - he has a lot of knowledge of the subject. His inputs and guidance will be very valuable for us,'' said Ashish Goel, chief executive and co-founder of Urban Ladder.

Goel was earlier chief operating officer of Amar Chitra Katha and a partner of management consultancy firm McKinsey.

Tata's decision to invest in Urban Ladder marks a milestone in the company's two-and-a-half-year journey, a statement from Urban Ladder said.

The company was launched in July 2012 by Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa and offers over 1,000 products across 25 categories such as wardrobes, beds, sofas, dining tables, and coffee tables.

The company expects to be worth Rs250-300 crore during the current fiscal.

(See domain-b's interview with Urban Ladder co founder, Rajiv Srivatsa,  "We focused on service over rapid growth")