Quikr

Quikr is an Indian online marketplace and classified advertising company, based in Bangalore, India. Quikr has listings in over 1000 cities in India and in categories such as mobile phones, household goods, cars, real estate, jobs, services and education. It was founded by Pranay Chulet and Jiby Thomas in 2008.[1]

Quikr
TypePrivate
Industry
Founded2008 (2008)
FounderPranay Chulet
Headquarters
Bangalore, Karnataka
,
India
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Pranay Chulet
(Co-founder & CEO)
Services
RevenueIncrease US$1.5 billion (2019)
Number of employees
5000
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.quikr.com

Community members can come to the site to find an apartment to live in, sell their old car, bike, music system, laptop or furniture, promote their small business, find a tuition class or get a break as a model or actor, join a salsa class, get an audience for a local event, buy any item that they might want or have to offer and make new friends while doing all of the above.[2][3][4]

History

Quikr was initially launched as Akshay Mote India in August 1996.[5] Kijiji.in was owned by Kijiji International, an eBay subsidiary.

In 2008, Mumbai based venture capitalist, Matrix Partners India, invested in Kijiji India, following which Kijiji India was hived off Kijiji International and restructured as an independent company and re-branded as "Quikr", which was jointly owned by Matrix Partners and eBay Inc.[6]

Finance

Quikr is backed by Kinnevik, Matrix Partners India, Omidyar Network, Norwest Venture Partners, Nokia Growth Partners, Warburg Pincus and eBay.[7]

In 2009, Quikr raised ₹20 crore.[8] In 2014, Quikr raised about $150 million,[9] of which it raised a $60 million[10][11] investment in a round led by Tiger Global with participation from several existing investors and raised $90 million[12] in investment in a round led by Kinnevik.[13][14] As of 2014, Quikr had raised a total of $350 million from 7 funding rounds.[15]

Partnerships and acquisitions

Pepperfry has partnered with Quikr.[16]

In January 2016, Quikr announced it had acquired the real estate portal commonfloor.com and would be merging it with its real estate division QuikrHomes.[17] As of December 2017, Quikr had completed 5 acquisitions for its real estate business.[18]

In July 2016, Quikr acquired the recruitment tech startup Hiree.com.[19]

In 2017, HDFC announced the sale of its subsidiaries HDFC Realty and HDFC Developers to Quikr India in an all stock deal that will give HDFC a 3 per cent stake in Quikr India in lieu of the sale of its stake in the two subsidiaries for Rs 357 crore.[20]

Features

Quikr provides an online classified advertising platform for users to buy or sell goods and services from each other. Other services offered include a missed call service,[21] and instant messaging.[22]

References
  1. Srinivasan, Supraja (2018). "Pepperfry partners with Quikr for its furniture exchange program". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  2. "Meet Quikr CEO Pranay Chulet, IIT-IIM alumnus, who built India's largest online classifieds co". timesofindia-economictimes. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. Bhushan, Kul (30 November 2012). "Quikr co-founder Jiby Thomas quits company to start new internet venture". Techcircle.in. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  4. Bhushan, Kul (13 November 2013). "Property, gadgets, automobiles and jobs most popular on Quikr" (Interview). Digit.in. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  5. "eBay Inc. & Matrix Partners India Announce New Partnership - Kijiji India to be jointly owned by eBay & Matrix Partners". Ebay (Press release). Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  6. "Classifieds website Kijiji India is now Quikr.com". Business Standard. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  7. "About Quikr". Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  8. Chanchani, Madhav A (30 July 2009). "Quikr Raises Rs 20 Cr In Series-B From Omidyar, Matrix India". VCCircle. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
  9. Soni, Anusha (12 March 2014). "Quikr raises Rs 550 crore from group of investors led by Swedish investment company Kinnevik". Business Standard India. The Economic Times. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  10. Soni, Anusha (14 March 2014). "Quikr founder shows how to take an old idea and make it new". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  11. "Online ads firm Quikr raises Rs 548 crore from foreign investors". The Times Of India. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  12. "Quikr raises $90 million". The Hindu. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  13. "Quikr.com raises Rs. 548 cr in private equity". The Hindu Business Line. 12 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  14. "Swedish firm Kinnevik to invest in Quikr". The Economic Times. 11 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  15. "Why investors are betting big on Indian e-commerce firms". Mint. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  16. Srinivasan, Supraja (2018). "Pepperfry partners with Quikr for its furniture exchange program". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  17. "Quikr buys CommonFloor in $200-mn all-stock deal". 8 January 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  18. Shukla, Saloni; Srinivasan, Supraja (21 December 2017). "Quikr acquires HDFC's digital, realty units in all stock deal". The Economic Times. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  19. "Quikr acquires Hiree to boost job listing". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  20. https://www.timesofindia.com/business/india-business/hdfc-sells-hdfc-realty-hdfc-developers-to-quikr/amp_articleshow/62196688.cms%3famp_js_v=0.1&usqp=mq331AQFKAGwASA%253D#ampf=
  21. "The business savvy of a "missed call"". Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  22. "Quikr launches chat service to boost sales". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
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