B2B Ecommerce Platform For Office Supplies Aahaa Stores Raises $1 Mn Funding

Chennai-based Aahaa Stores, a B2B ecommerce startup that has an online office supplies platform has raised $1 Mn in the second round of Pre Series A funding. The round was led by YourNest.

Aahaa Stores had raised its first Pre Series A funding in March 2016. As per a company statement, the B2B ecommerce firm has grown multifold since then in terms of product portfolio, customer base, geographical presence and sales turnover.

Commenting on this development, Sunil K Goyal, Managing Director and Fund Manager, YourNest said, “Aahaa Stores has won the trust of the finest enterprise customers in segments including BFSI, manufacturing and IT, in a short period of time. Winning customer confidence in this competitive market opens further doors for immense growth in meeting the needs of intelligent procurement. Aahaa team has the leadership depth and the domain knowledge to excel and grow as a B2B marketplace.”

Founded in April 2011 by Sunil K Goyal, Sanjay Pande, and Girish Shivani, YourNest is an early-stage venture capital fund. It invests in sectors like Internet of Things, electronic system design, artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, enterprise software and the mobile internet. Its portfolio consists of companies including Uniphore Software, mycity4kids, Rubique, Arya.ai, Smart Software Testing Solutions Inc, Simpli5d, GolfLAN.

On the other hand, founded in 2013, Aahaa is an online office superstore for all indirect product purchases and a preeminent strategic supplier to IT companies, manufacturers and financial institutions. The leadership includes Asokan Sattanathan (Chairman), Rajaraman Sundaresan (CEO) and Harish Kannan (COO). The startup is focussed on the BFSI and IT sectors and manages their daily need of essential indirect supplies efficiently and effectively at 4,000+ branches across the country.

The startup will use the recently raised funds for expanding the business across new verticals and geographies. Aahaa Stores will also focus on strengthening its technology platform iPOS, mobilising top talent and reaching out to new customers across verticals.

Talking about the startup, Asokan Sattanathan, founder and Chairman, Aahaa Stores said, “With our unique solution providing capabilities in the indirect office supplies space, we are well-poised to reach $15.6 Mn (INR 100 Cr) run rate and attain breakeven volumes by the end of this financial year. Within a short span of time, we have been able to create a niche platform for the online office supplies segment which reiterates our confidence that we will soon emerge as a leader in the online office supplies space.”

As an online procurement service partner, Aahaa Stores claims to help businesses save 20%-30% of the expenses. It does so by managing the supply chain, bringing collective bargaining benefits and streamlining the vendor network.

Aahaa Stores has managed to triple its revenue in last one year as per a company statement. It has acquired clients including brands like IndusInd Bank, Bosch, TCS, Wipro, Equitas, ITC, Samsung, Yes Bank, Ashok Leyland, TVS Credit, and Chola among others.

With this round of funding, the B2B ecommerce platform for office supplies, Aahaa Stores will look to strengthen its position against other players in this segment like Staple, Office Depot, WorkStore, Industrybuying etc.