How Furniture Rental Start-Ups are Booming in India

FDT Bureau

With Indian start-ups regularly bringing capital from not only venture capitalists but also from celebrities across the globe, problems plaguing the core sectors would potentially be resolved and addressed by these ventures. Leading investors assume that this approach has led to the formulation of a new trend where there would be investments and capital pumped-in to solve even everyday issues that appear on paper to be minor. This is probably slated to be the new-gen funding apart from that of niche sectors like technology, healthcare, and businesses.

Gone are the circumstances when a job-seeker would choose jobbing only in his/her hometown. With a generation that is more mobile-savvy than ever before, purchasing furniture and electric appliances is not a viable option– primarily due to short-term utility wants.

The new society is shifting towards approachability as opposed to ownership. Getting what you need quickly, and getting it for a fraction of the cost of buying, is the key.

With the e-commerce business gaining trust, the fundamental distaste in our culture for using things that one doesn't own is coming down. Technology is giving importance to the supply for a previously enduring need.

Here is the list of best online furniture rental start-ups driving the industry:

1. Furlenco

Image courtesy: Furlenco

Ajith Mohan Karimpana established Bengaluru-based furniture rental startup Furlenco in 2011. The startup enables its customers to furnish their homes by renting out its furniture, created by in-house experts. It works on a subscription-based design, giving its clients curated sets with the choice of free relocation and furniture swapping. It is operational in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Gurugram.

2. Pepperfry

Image courtesy: News Franchise India

Mumbai-based Pepperfy was endowed by Ambareesh Murty and Ashish Shah in 2012. The startup started as an online furniture marketplace, but last year, it spread into the furniture rental division. Its furniture rental market is currently operational in eight centres across India, including, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Chandigarh.

3. CityFurnish

Image courtesy: City furnish

Neerav Jain established Gurugram-based online furniture rental startup CityFurnish in 2015. The startup renders furniture on simple monthly rental, with with the rent to buy option. It also gives free transportation & setup, easy relocation, free support and free swap opportunity to intensify the customer activity. The startup is operational in Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai and other states.

4. Fabrento

Image courtesy: Little Black Book LBB Office

Sidhant Lamba set new Delhi-based furniture rental startup Fabrento. The startup gives a platform to attempt furniture on rent with free transportation and connection for its customer. It is currently operational in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Thane, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Mohali, Panchkula, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, and Ambala.

5. GrabOnRent

Image courtesy: Grab On Rent

Bengaluru-based online rental startup GrabOnRent was established by IIT Guwahati graduates Subham Jain, Aditya Sharma, and Manish S Sugandhi in 2015. Along with giving furniture, it also offers house appliances, computers, and fitness goods on rent through its stage. The startup is currently operational in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Gurugram.

6. Guarented

Image courtesy: Flipkart

Bengaluru-based online furniture rental marketplace Guarented was founded by three IIT Kharagpur alumni Harshwardhan Raikwar, Abhimanyu Dikshit, and Prateek Agrawal in 2015. It aims to help its customers by providing affordable and quality furniture on rent through its platform. Currently, it is only operational in Bengaluru.

7. Rentickle

Image courtesy: Iamwire

New Delhi-based online rental startup Rentickle was founded by Amit Sodhi and Vineet Chawla in 2015. The startup provides a one-stop rental solution for furniture and other home appliances. It claims to have more than 10,000 customers across Bengaluru, Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, and Hyderabad.

8. Rentomojo

Image courtesy: Techcircle

Bengaluru-based online rental platform Rentomojo was founded by Geetansh Bamania, along with Achal Mittal, Ajay Nain, and Gautam Adukia in 2014. The platform provides a wide range of furniture on rent at affordable prices. It claims to have more than 25,000 active customers across Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Hyderabad, and Chennai. Since last month, Rentomojo started offering premium smartphones on rent, expanding its product offering.

9. Voko

Image courtesy: Voko

Gurugram-based online furniture rental startup Voko was founded by former OYO employees Bhuvnesh Sharma and Harsh Vardhan in 2016. It provides furniture and other home essentials on rent, focused on professionals and students. It is only operational in Gurugram.

From easy subscription based buying the economy also moved on to providing products on a rental basis, be it clothes, shoes, bags or anything else. The most significant advantage that this kind of market offers is that the consumer can own the products for a certain period at meagre prices and return it once the need is over. The owner puts the product back for sale after refurbishing it, and that is how the same thing can be sold multiple times for short term usage.

Though the renting of furniture is yet to receive appreciation and attention of consumers due to the stigma attached to the same, the “sharing economy” is curbing many of these.  

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