The market for home set up in India is estimated to be growing at 20 per cent CAGR and is already a $10 billion per annum industry in the Top 10 Indian cities alone.
Srikanth Iyer, ex-CEO of Pearson India and Founder of Edurite, and GrowthStory’s Meena and K Ganesh, the husband-wife duo behind some of India’s most innovative, technology-led ventures including Portea Medical, BigBasket, BlueStone,avagmah and TutorVista (sold in 2013 to US and UK-listed Pearson for $213 million), have founded HomeLane, a new asset-light, business venture that will rely on technology and lean manufacturing to provide home owners in India with customizable, home setup solutions including kitchens, wardrobes and entertainment units.
The market for home set up in India is estimated to be growing at 20 per cent CAGR and is already a $10 billion per annum industry in the Top 10 Indian cities alone. Currently, the segment is being addressed by the unorganized sector comprising carpenters and brick-and-mortar furniture stores which is hugely labour-intensive, with overall quality standards being poor, and timelines which are flouted more often than not.
Srikanth Iyer, who is CEO of the new venture and set up HomeLane after exiting education major, Pearson India, which he headed until recently, said: “Although setting up a home in India consumes such a large share-of-wallet (second largest after real estate costs), it is a big pain-point for home owners. The market is unorganized and very fragmented. Invariably, there are cost overruns and very little control over quality and timeliness leading to huge frustration among home owners. HomeLane aims to change this as our services will put complete control in the hands of home owners.”
HomeLane aims to be in 7 cities over the next 12 months and has already launched operations in Bangalore, where it acquired a running business with deep domain expertise, and added technology and asset light manufacturing as the new disruptions to the business model.
“The use of 3D Visualization technology and automating the design to manufacturing process allows us to bring down delivery time by half,” said Rama Harinath, Co-Founder, HomeLane, and an IIT/ IIM Alumnus. “Our experience in Bangalore has already shown that there is a massive potential for a branded player who can offer time bound delivery of home interiors with transparency, quality and convenience being the cornerstones. We will be a trustworthy brand that provides the quality, accountability and cost-effectiveness that home owners crave.”
“HomeLane’s use of technology and an asset-light model will turn the market on its head and disrupt the traditional brick-and-mortar business, just as we have shown it is possible to do with sectors as diverse as Education and Healthcare,” said K Ganesh, Serial Entrepreneur and Founder-Partner, GrowthStory. “We look forward to working with Srikanth and the team, to create a market leader in what is a huge, ‘whitespace’ opportunity.”
“India offers many opportunities to build profitable ventures in what are commonly perceived to be unorganized sectors. Home setup is one such area,” added Ganesh.
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