Reliance Retail has taken a controlling interest in the furniture and home décor platform Urban Ladder, signifying an increased focus on the e-commerce sector as India’s leading retail company prepares to compete with Amazon and Flipkart.

According to a statement filed with the Indian stock exchange, Reliance Retail has obtained a 96% ownership stake in Urban Ladder for approximately $24.43 million. The major Indian retailer also has the possibility of acquiring the remaining shares in the startup, which is nearly seven and a half years old, and has proposed further investment of up to $10.06 million in Urban Ladder before December 2023.

Established in early 2012, Urban Ladder specializes in the online sale of furniture and decorative items for the home. The company also manages a network of brick-and-mortar retail locations across various cities in India. The transaction value indicates a potential distressed sale.

The startup had previously secured around $115 million in funding from investors including Sequoia Capital, SAIF Partners, Steadview Capital, and MIT, as reported by Crunchbase and Tracxn. During the fiscal year concluding in March, the Indian company recorded a loss of $6.63 million with a revenue of $58.2 million.

Reliance Retail stated in a document (PDF) that this investment “will further strengthen the group’s digital and new commerce efforts and broaden the range of consumer products offered, while also improving customer engagement and the overall experience across its retail businesses.”

Urban Ladder represents the latest addition to Reliance Retail’s portfolio of acquisitions. Earlier this year, the company announced a $3.4 billion agreement with Future Group to purchase several businesses belonging to India’s second-largest retail chain. In August, Reliance acquired a 60% stake in Vitalic, the parent company of pharma marketplace Netmeds, for around $83.2 million.

Reliance Retail, a component of Reliance Industries – India’s most valuable company – has raised roughly $6.4 billion in recent months, following its affiliate Jio Platforms’ success in securing over $20 billion in investment this year from prominent investors such as Facebook and Google.

Reliance Retail currently serves over 3.5 million customers weekly through its nearly 10,000 physical stores located in more than 6,500 cities and towns throughout India. The company entered the e-commerce market with JioMart, a joint venture with Jio Platforms. JioMart currently operates in over 200 Indian cities and towns and has a collaborative arrangement with Facebook for integration with WhatsApp.