Furlenco is now focused on expanding its offline footprint, aiming to serve hundreds of thousands of households, with plans to go public in the coming years
Bengaluru: Renting, once predominantly associated with the housing market, has evolved into a convenient solution across numerous sectors, from apparel to motor vehicles.
Foreseeing a shift in consumer behaviour well before it became mainstream, Ajith Mohan Karimpana, then a corporate professional, left his job to launch Furlenco—a subscription-driven online furniture rental platform—at a time when e-commerce in India was still in its infancy.
Over a decade later, after establishing a strong digital foothold, the Bengaluru-based brand made its foray into offline retail in 2023, unveiling two brick-and-mortar stores in its home city.
With the rental economy gaining traction, Furlenco is now targeting for expansive growth—scaling its offline presence, aspiring to serve hundreds of thousands of households, and setting its sights on bold revenue targets in the near future.
In an exclusive interview with IndiaRetailing, Karimpana, Founder & CEO of Furlenco, delves into the brand’s journey since inception, business model, pivotal successes and setbacks, strategic vision for the future, and more.
Edited excerpts…
What inspired you to start India’s first-ever furniture rental service?
The idea took shape in 2011, after I returned to India following a decade in the United States. While setting up my home, I noticed a gap in the market. For people like me—relocating and in transition—buying furniture right away didn’t feel practical. That’s when the concept truly crystallised.
I eventually quit my job in 2011 and went on to formally incorporate the company in 2012. When I first came up with the idea, hardly anyone believed in it. Still, there was this strong feeling that something like this was necessary. I invested around Rs 50 lakh to get started, which was nearly half of my savings back then. I started with just around 10 basic pieces—things like a sofa, bed, mattress.
Is there a particular story behind the name ‘Furlenco’?
Originally, the company was called ‘Rent Your Dunia’ before 2013. However, I didn’t feel that name fit the vision of a billion-dollar company—it sounded too local. So, we brought in a branding agency to help us come up with a name that would be more fitting for a company of this scale. After going through the process, they came up with ‘Furlenco’, and it aligned with the idea of a successful, global brand.
Did it take a while for consumers to warm up to the idea?
Yes. Earning acceptance for the concept of furniture rental was a gradual process, requiring us to build the category from the ground up. On top of that, there were social taboos. For example, with mattresses, people would wonder—has someone else used this? Is it hygienic? Overcoming those concerns could only happen through strong brand trust.
Step one was creating the category, and step two was building a brand people could rely on, which wasn’t easy, especially without funds. For the first three to four years, we were bootstrapped with no external funding.
When did you have your first funding?
In 2015, Lightbox Ventures invested $6 million which gave us the push we needed to scale the business, build a strong brand, and establish the furniture rental category. That is when the real momentum started.
Over the years, we have secured funding from a range of investors, including Axis Capital, Aamir Khan, Crescent Enterprises Ltd., Mafatlal Group, CE-Ventures, Chowdry Associates, Zinnia Global Fund, BlackSoil Capital, Eudora Ventures, Northern Arc, and CredAvenue. To date, we have raised approximately Rs 900 crores in equity funding.
Apart from rentals, when did Furlenco start selling furniture?
About two years ago, we decided to add selling to our offering. Selling is easier than renting since we use the same trucks and delivery system. While Furlenco is mainly a rental company and we believe renting is the future, we didn’t want to miss out on the buying market. That’s why we added furniture sales as an option.
Could you explain more about your service ‘Unlmtd’?
The idea for ‘Unlmtd’ came from reflecting on how, at a restaurant, you can choose between à la carte or a buffet, where a fixed price lets you enjoy as much as you want without worrying about individual costs. I thought, why not apply this concept to furniture?
With ‘Unlmtd’, customers pay a single monthly fee for a plan and can select a specific number of items. The choice of pieces is flexible. This approach eliminates the need to worry about individual pricing, fundamentally altering the traditional concept of subscription. While standard furniture rentals operate on an à la carte basis, ‘Unlmtd’ introduces a comprehensive subscription model with a single fixed price.
How do you maintain products and ensure it feels like new for customers?
The biggest concern for customers is hygiene—they want pieces that feel brand new. That is why we have mastered what we call remanufacturing—essentially a mini factory setup within our warehouse.
Every returned item goes through multiple stages of cleaning and repair. Whether it’s a stained sofa, a sunken cushion, or chipped wood, our team refurbishes it to its original condition.
Since all our furniture is designed in-house by the Furlenco design team, it is built for easy refurbishment. Within 72 hours, any returned item is fully cleaned, fixed, and ready to be rented out again. Every major city we operate in has its own dedicated refurbishment facility to ensure this process runs smoothly.
How do Furlenco’s store operations function?
The store operations function similarly to the website. Initially, we anticipated that physical stores would primarily enhance sales. However, we observed a significant rental market—particularly among families—who prefer to visit the store to experience the furniture firsthand before committing to a rental. These customers generally rent larger sets, and the availability of a physical space has enhanced their confidence in the product.
We launched with two stores in Bengaluru and now plan to expand to approximately 10 stores over the next few years, in cities like Hyderabad, Delhi, Kochi and Coimbatore.
Are you looking to enter any new categories soon?
Currently, we offer around 1,000 stock-keeping-units (SKUs). At our core, we are a furniture company that began with rentals.
While categories like bikes are rentable, they don’t align closely with our core focus. For such non-core categories, we prefer to adopt an asset-light model by partnering with other companies. For instance, we have a tie-up with DrinkPrime, where the water purifiers are sourced through them, but we facilitate rentals and generate sales via our platform. Going forward, for any category that falls outside our core business and has a dedicated rental provider, we aim to collaborate with them to offer those assets through our platform.
Which regions are driving the highest demand right now?
Initially, we expected demand to come mainly from metro cities due to job relocations. While Bengaluru remains our largest market, we have found that as we expand into tier-2 cities like Jaipur and Chandigarh, the growth rate mirrors what we saw in Bengaluru early on.
If people are renting homes in any city, rental furniture has a place there. When entering new cities, we may not see as many subscriptions right away, but over time, as the model matures, we expect to see similar adoption in all cities. The growth is tied to how and when we entered each city, with those cities showing more numbers based on their stage in our expansion.
Where is your manufacturing unit?
We have a large facility in Bengaluru, near Electronic City, where over 50% of Furlenco’s furniture is currently manufactured in-house. This setup gives us a huge advantage over competitors by helping reduce costs, and in the long run, it will contribute positively to our profitability.
Have there been any major roadblocks in the rental space?
One of the biggest challenges has been overcoming the taboo around renting and driving a shift in consumer mindset. However, we have seen encouraging signs—online searches for rental furniture have grown by nearly 70% since 2022.
Today, consumers between the ages of 25 to 35 are opting for rental furniture first, and only then considering buying. Earlier, it was the reverse—buying was the default, and rental was an afterthought. With this shift, traditional furniture sellers are now finding it increasingly difficult to compete. The tables have truly turned.
What is Furlenco’s current financial position?
In fiscal year (FY) 2023, our operating revenue stood at Rs 156 crore, followed by Rs 140 crores in FY 2024. For FY 2025, we are projecting to reach approximately Rs 230 crore in revenue. As we continue to scale and expand, our goal for the next two years is to surpass Rs 500 crore in revenue.
Do you have any plans to take the brand into global markets?
Not immediately. We are taking a measured, step-by-step approach. There is still significant untapped potential in the Indian market, and we don’t want to stretch ourselves globally when the domestic opportunity is far from saturated. As a profitable, self-sustaining company, our focus is on sustainable growth. International expansion will happen eventually, but it’s not a near-term priority.
What are the key benchmarks you are focused on hitting next?
The idea is to solidify our position as the pioneer in the rental furniture space. We are already one of the largest rental furniture companies in the country, with over one lakh active households as we speak.
Over the next two years, our goal is to scale this number to between three to five lakh homes. This growth trajectory will also align with our plans to go public in the next two to three years. In essence, we are aiming to triple the size of the company within this timeframe.
