Indian economy is on a high like never before and researchers predict that this growing affluence will develop India as the third-largest consumer market in the global arena by 2025. Changing lifestyles, the advent of new technologies & products and emerging lifestyle solutions are the key drivers of this wave. These evolving patterns have excited a new breed of entrepreneurs who are exploring untouched territories and some innovative startup companies have been the frontrunners in this industry.
One such innovative startup that has attracted the eyeballs of the business fraternity is Rentickle. Established as a one-stop destination, Rentickle offers lifestyle products like trendy, contemporary furniture, hi end DSLR cameras, water and air purifiers, consumer electronics and home appliances on rental subscription basis.
Rentickle is a dream come true for professionals who are on the move across cities for work or for higher studies and are usually unsure about the tenure of their stay in these cities. Many expats and young newly married couples setting up a home on low budgets also approach Rentickle for enhancing their lifestyles on rental subscription basis.
Incubated in 2015 and headquartered at Gurugram, the company has been successfully serving the needs of clients for enhancing lifestyles by providing lifestyle products on rental subscription basis. It offers a wide range of premium-quality products at affordable rentals which allow customers to enjoy trendy life style products at 2-3 percent of the buying price of these products. Add to that the convenience of ordering these on line from the comfort of one’s home, with complimentary home delivery and pick up on tenure completion and topped with attractive promotional offers!
The whole idea is to help clients avoid the rigmarole of buying new furniture, home appliances, household products etc along with the burden of managing the logistics, delivery and installation. Further, re-selling these products at the time of leaving the city is also a highly time consuming, inconvenient and loss making proposition as the prices offered are bare minimum.
As sharing economy continues to grow by leaps and bounds, Rentickle is planning to add many more categories and will include baby product and fitness equipment among others. The company also plans to expand its services across India by the end of this year.
Amit Sodhi & Vineet Chawla, Founders of Rentickle
Founded by two industry stalwarts – Amit Sodhi and Vineet Chawla, the company offers its services in Delhi NCR, Hyderabad and Bangalore and has over 10000 subscribers already.
Amit is a specialist in managing strategic partnerships, business development, and nurturing business ideas. With more than 15 years of professional experience in various leadership roles, he is an alumnus of Delhi College of Engineering and ISB Hyderabad. His exposure and familiarity in diverse sectors like M&A, corporate strategy, and engineering gave him the edge to implement and nurture his entrepreneurial skills with utmost precision.
Vineet brings in twenty-five years of professional expertise which drives the company to attain new business heights. Prior to founding Rentickle, he was the CEO of Hong Kong Winalite Group – India and SAARC region. After completing his MBA from Mumbai University, he has been in top management roles, travelling across the globe with prestigious multinational companies like Godrej GE Appliances, Whirlpool India, Oriflame Cosmetics and Future Group.
Wide range of products, customer centricity making the key difference
The organized on line lifestyle rental industry is still relatively new in India. Till a few years ago, this industry was largely dominated by unorganized players and neighborhood shops who would not offer variety, convenience or even a value for money proposition.
Rentickle has been a pioneer in delivering innovative and customized solutions and is already a prominent player in this industry. Their focus on quality, variety, convenience and customer centricity has enabled the company to establish a strong client base, both in B to B and B to C segments.
With Rentickle, clients can enjoy premium lifestyle products at two to three percent of the buying price as monthly rentals. This consumer friendly and clients problem solving approach has ensured that the company is already the prime choice of the clients for lifestyle rental products.
The company’s in-house design and fabrication team is constantly endeavoring to innovate and regularly offer new, attractive, trendy designs on home furniture. For home appliances and consumer electronics, the company has tie-ups with major global brands like LG, Haier, and Livpure among others, thereby offering world class appliances along with onsite brand warranty
Facing challenges and rising to the occasion
As with any startup, Rentickle has had its fair share of surprises and ups and downs in a short span of three years. However, the team’s passion to succeed and to transform the challenges into opportunities has ensured the entity outshines other competitors in the market.
The concept of renting is fairly nascent in India and the company foresees a massive growth opportunity ahead for the renting and shared economy industry. Lifestyle rental industry has just witnessed the tip of an iceberg and as the awareness and popularity grow, this will unveil a completely new way of living.
As the support and funding from global venture capitalists and private equity companies continues to grow, the industry is poised to attract huge attention from the consumers and investors alike in the coming years.
Client confidence and Investors support
Customer-centric solutions, top of the line quality and aesthetics, a winning team and constant support from investors have been the pillars of success for Rentickle. The company recently raised another fundraise of USD 4 million in equity and debt from Mr Ajay Relan of CX Partners and ThinKuvate, a Singapore-based VC firm, among others. DMI Finance, a Delhi based NBFC has extended debt line.
This overwhelming trust and confidence by the investors and clients has enabled the team further to reach greater heights. Over the next few years, the company has aggressive plans to introduce many new categories like fitness products, baby care products among others and also to have a PAN India presence.
Affordable rentals, best quality products and a customer-friendly approach have ensured that Rentickle is already the prime choice of consumers for renting lifestyle products, both in B to B and B to C segments.
Source :-The 18 Innovative Startups to Watch in 2018
