Medplus founder raises Rs 16 crore for new venture Customfurnish.com

Serial entrepreneur Madhukar Gangadi, founder of Hyderabad-based drug retailing and pathology labs chain Medplus Health Services, has raised Rs 16 crore from a group of individual investors for his new custom-made furniture e-tailer venture, Customfurnish.com.

The investors in the online retail mart include Satish Reddy, chairman of Dr Reddy's Laboratories limited, Srini Raju, founder of city-based private equity fund Peepul Capital LLC, and Srini Koppolu, former managing director of Microsoft India Development Centre. Of the Rs 16 crore raised, Rs 3 crore was debt from Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi).

Soft launched in December 2014, Customfurnish.com allows customers to turn interior designers and do up their home furniture according to their choice of colour, style, design and size. It currently operates a 30,000-sft manufacturing unit and delivery centre in Hyderabad, which would also cater to the Bengaluru and Chennai markets from early next month.

Addressing mediapersons here on Wednesday, Gangadi said the company was in the process of setting up a 60,000-sft manufacturing unit in Hyderabad, which was expected to be commissioned in two months from now.

"Our idea is to set up a manufacturing plant each in New Delhi and Kolkata within the next six months, and eventually have 10 such units across the country, each with an investment of between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 5 crore, in one-and-a-half year," he said, adding that the company was already in the process of raising Rs 100 crore in the second round to fuel its expansion plans, within the next two quarters.

Stating that home and furnishing market in India is currently pegged at $20 billion, with organised retail holding about 15 per cent market share, Gangadi said household furniture accounted for 65 per cent of this. "Although large, the furniture market still has significant room for growth," he said, while not ruling out the possibility of tapping the small office space in the coming months.

"Customfurnish.com's designing tool helps the users design their furniture, have a look of the finished product, and get them delivered and installed in their homes within a very short span," said Koppolu, co-investor and mentor to Custofurnish.com's 50-strong tech team.

Replying to a query on his previous ventures Cornerstone, a customised apparel brand retail chain launched in 2008, and Medplusbeauty.com, an online beauty store floated in December 2011, Gangadi said Cornerstone was put on hold and would be revived at a later date, while Medplusbeauty.com has recently been morphed to Medplusmart.com.