Urban Ladder reeling under mass executive exits

Online furniture marketplace, Urban Ladder is reeling under mass senior executive departures with at least four key executive exits in the past one month, reports Livemint.

In the light of the startup's slowing business and as it explores offline segment, the news doesn't bode well for the company. Citing sources, the report says that Rushabh Sanghavi, Vice President of category and sourcing, Nikhil Ramprakash, Vice President of sales and online marketing, Parag Shah, vice-president, fitouts, urban interiors and alliances, and chief marketing officer Sanjay Gupta have quit the company in last one month.

While Sanghavi and Ramprakash joined Urban Ladder in 2012 in the early days, Shah joined Urban Ladder in January 2015 from Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd and Gupta came in from Marico Ltd in February 2016.

These departures come on the heels of another flurry of exits that the company witnessed last year when chief technology officer Apurva Dalal, Kartikeya Misra, vice-president and head, product and design and Prithvi Raj Tejavath, vice-president, category management and growth, had quit the company.

"Business has slowed down for Urban Ladder over the last 12 months. Sales have remained flat at Rs20-25 crore per month. The slowdown and recent pivot might have prompted these executives to take a call on their future with the company. Essentially, the entire senior management reporting to the founders barring Kaustabh Chakraborty, the operations head, have quit," a person aware of the matter told Mint.

Founded by Indian Institute of Management Bangalore alumni Ashish Goel and Rajiv Srivatsa in 2012, Urban Ladder recently launched a brand new identity and is on course to widen offline distribution channels beyond company-owned centers. It plans to launch at least three experience centers in Bangalore and is exploring partnerships with large format retail stores.

Earlier this year, the company secured $15.2 million in a fresh funding round from existing investors Kalaari Capital, SAIF Partners, Steadview Capital and Sequoia Capital, among others.