Cityfurnish Raises Funding From Times Group

Gurgaon-based furniture rental start-up Cityfurnish.com has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Brand Capital, the investment arm of media conglomerate Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd. (BCCL). Cityfurnish plans to advertise its brand and offerings through various media publications of Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd, which operates as Times Group. The partnership is a significant step in propelling the brand to newer heights as it seeks to increase its footprint to 6 metro and tier one cities and to become a sought after brand in premium lifestyle products rental space. This round also saw the participation of existing investors of Cityfurnish further strengthening their confidence in Cityfurnish.

The startup is already operating in Gurgaon, Delhi and Bangalore and now planning to launch its services in Pune and Mumbai soon. Cityfurnish aims to revolutionise the rental industry in India by making renting affordable and easy. With the advent of shared economy and rise in dislocation among the millennials, renting is set to increase and Cityfurnish wants to capture this market. Announcing the investment received, Neerav Jain, Founding Director of Cityfurnish said, "We are happy and excited about our new association with Times Group. We intend to leverage their ability to build brands through their prestigious advertising channels. We foresee a new elevated status for our brand, which shall help us expand faster in new cities."

The rental market in India is still in a nascent stage with unorganised vendors and payment networks aplenty. With the entry of start-ups like Cityfurnish, this is set to change. Cityfurnish's focus is on creating a rental ecosystem that would enable the highly mobile urban population to access premium lifestyle products at easy and affordable rentals.

Currently, Cityfurnish offers a variety of home furniture and furnishing on affordable monthly rental plans. It has also launched a new category of exercise equipment recently. "We want to become a one-stop solution for premium lifestyle products on rent," said Neerav Jain, founder of Cityfurnish.