Press Release

Press Release | New Delhi/Mumbai, 07/28/2015

Bertelsmann Tops Up Investment in Indian E-commerce Platform Pepperfry.com

  • Further expansion of activities in strategic growth region
  • $100 million financing round
  • Other investors are Goldman Sachs, Zodius Capital and Norwest Venture Partners

Bertelsmann is making another investment in the Indian e-commerce sector. The international media, services, and education company is investing a two-digit million sum in Pepperfry.com, India’s largest furniture and home products marketplace, as part of a financing round. In all, Pepperfry.com raised $100 million from the investors Bertelsmann, Goldman Sachs, Zodius Capital and Norwest Venture Partners in this round. Founded in 2012, the Internet marketplace specializes in the sale of furniture and home accessories and currently has more than two million customers in more than 1,000 cities in India. Pepperfry will use the fresh capital to expand its logistics operations in India, open new distribution centers, and improve its services.

Shobhna Mohn, Executive Vice President Growth Regions at Bertelsmann, says: “India is a strategic growth region for Bertelsmann, and we are making good progress in growing our business presence there. The e-commerce industry in India is booming – Pepperfry benefits from this and thanks to its excellent services is outperforming the market. We are pleased to be supporting this impressive growth again, after having first invested in the business in May of last year.”

Pankaj Makkar, Managing Director of Bertelsmann India Investments, adds: “Pepperfry is a success story. The company has quickly evolved into the leading online marketplace for furniture and home products in India. Its potential is still enormous given the Indian home and furniture market is estimated to be around $25 billion currently. We very much look forward to working with the Pepperfry management to build this into a clear leader in its segment.”

Ambareesh Murty, Founder and CEO of Pepperfry, says: “We want Pepperfry to be the place where modern Indian families shop for their homes. On this mission, we will benefit tremendously from Goldman Sachs and Zodius’ global expertise. Our existing investors Norwest and Bertelsmann have already proven themselves to be great partners, and I thank them for reiterating their faith in our team.”

For Bertelsmann, this investment in Pepperfry is its second investment in the Indian market within a short period: Just a few days ago, the media group participated in a $100 million financing round for Saavn, the leading Indian music streaming service. Bertelsmann’s other investments in India include the real estate portal Indiaproperty.com, the university services provider iNurture, and Authorgen Technologies and its online education platform Wiziq.com. Bertelsmann has also done business in India successfully for years via its divisions: Fremantle Media, the production arm of RTL Group, is successful in India with shows like “Indian Idol,” “The X Factor” and “Got Talent”; Penguin Random House is the largest English-language trade book publisher in the country; and Arvato delivers customer & marketing services for international clients.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the service providers Arvato and Be Printers, the music rights company BMG and the e-learning provider Relias Learning. The company has more than 112,000 employees and generated revenues of €16.7 billion in financial year 2014. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes the creation of first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world.