Pepperfry, India’s largest marketplace for
furniture and home goods, has opened its first studio in Chittoor, Andhra
Pradesh. The offline expansion is in keeping with the company’s goal of
penetrating niche markets and creating India’s largest omni-channel furniture
and home product business. Pepperfry, which opened its first Studio in 2014,
now has 150+ Studios in more than 80 towns across the country. In Bangalore,
Chennai, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Kochi, Trivandrum, Kozhikode, Coimbatore, Vizag,
Madurai, Kottayam, Kollam, Salem, Gulbarga, Trichy, Vellore, Secunderabad,
Vijayawada, Erode, Cherthala, and now Chittoor, Pepperfry has 50+ Studios.
The Studio, which is being developed in
collaboration with B and B Home Scape, is located in a prominent position in
Kattamanchi, Chittoor, and has a carpet space of 720 square feet. It provides
customers with a first-hand experience of a curated assortment of furniture and
décor, which has been hand-picked from Pepperfry’s diverse portfolio of over 1
lakh products. These Studios offer customers the opportunity to touch and feel
the wood finishes and quality of these high-ticket objects before making a
purchase. It also houses design specialists that provide complimentary design
consulting, assisting customers in the creation of their ideal homes.
Building on their omni-channel network,
Pepperfry developed a novel franchise model in 2017, launching 90 FOFO Studios
across metros, Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets such as Pathankot, Trivandrum, Patna,
Bengaluru, Indore, Chennai, Guwahati, and Coimbatore in a relatively short
period of time. Pepperfry chose to partner with the best local entrepreneurs
who are familiar with hyperlocal demand cycles and trends for these Franchise
Studios. In 2020, the company updated its franchise strategy to make it more
profitable for both current and new franchise partners. It now has a reward
structure in place that allows franchise owners to earn a 15% commission
(formerly 10%) on any online transaction done through the franchise studio.
In June 2021, Pepperfry launched the
Pepperfry Accelerator Program with an aim to establish over 200 Studios in one
year. The objective of this newly crafted program is to exponentially expand
Pepperfry’s offline footprint by adding one entrepreneur a day for the rest of
the year. However, the big differentiator of the new program is the Capex
required by franchise partners, which is around INR 15 lakhs – one-third as
compared to the existing franchise program.
Both the models are based on 100% price
parity and does not require the partner to hold product inventory, making it a
mutually beneficial business association.
Speaking of the launch Amruta Gupta,
Business Head, Pepperfry said, “We are delighted to expand our omni-channel
footprint by launching our first Studio in Chittoor in partnership with B &
B Homescape. At Pepperfry, our aim is to be available to our customers through
as many touchpoints as possible, offering great variety at great price points.
Thus, in the current times where individuals have become more conscious towards
their home-environment and are investing behind creating a space that is
functional and aesthetic, we believe our Studios will aid consumers in creating
an ideal home.”
Bobby Benedict.C, Managing Director, B
& B Homescape said, “This is our 2nd franchise studio with Pepperfry and we
are extremely happy to partner again with India’s leading home and furniture
marketplace. Pepperfry has pioneered a truly differentiated omnichannel
business and we are proud to be a part of their journey in creating the largest
omnichannel home and furniture business.” Courtesy: www.apnnews.com
