Pepperfry.com: Turning the tables on disruption
The case discusses how Pepperfry, India’s largest online furniture retailer, disrupted the furniture and home decor market while overcoming the challenges of India’s weak infrastructure, age-old methods of buying and selling furniture from local carpentry shops, lack of consumer trust in e-commerce and a massive geography. By 2018 Pepperfry had grown exponentially to control over 60% of the online furniture business in the country. However, several questions regarding its current and future trajectory remained. First, despite controlling costs and significantly expanding revenues, it was not profitable. What could it do to achieve profitability? Second, in response to the demands of the market, Pepperfry embarked on an omnichannel strategy, establishing 34 studios in Tier 1 cities with targeted expansion to 70 studios by 2019. How could it manage this added online-offline complexity, while still staying on track to break even? Finally, the competitive space had significantly heated up, with the arrival of IKEA (September 2018), and with Flipkart’s (acquired by Walmart) growing focus on the furniture segment. Did Pepperfry have the systems, brand name and agility to respond to these challenges? Or will the disruptor be disrupted?
- How platform strategy can be cleverly used to disrupt a fragmented and unorganized marketplace where customers demand significant variety
- The importance of a curated platform, compared to an open one
- The challenges of traditional supply chain and marketing channels in developing countries
- How firms in such markets can go about building a multi-sided platform
- The critical role of the offline channel and the challenges of managing an omnichannel business
Pepperfry, Information Technology, eCommerce
2012 - 2017
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]
Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]
NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
By 2026, it's predicted that over 80% of organizations will have employed generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in some capacity, up from less...
Choosing a CEO is a crucial decision for any company, but it becomes particularly complex in family businesses. This difficulty stems from the need...
Family businesses often have not only financial wealth but also nonfinancial values that make them different from nonfamily companies. For instance...
Leadership presence (LP) is widely acknowledged as a foundation of effective leadership. Historically, LP has been conceptualized as a collection o...
With organizations of all sorts facing increased urgency and unpredictability, being able to ask smart questions has become key. But unlike lawyers...
No company can grasp the potential of AI until it has set up a data-driven culture enabling employees to create value from the insights that emerge...
In a world where agility and global foresight are crucial for business survival and growth, the FUCHS case presents a compelling narrative of trans...
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in Harvard Business Review May-June 2024, vol. 102, issue 3
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications