Founder – Raghunandan Saraf
Website – Saraf furniture
The journey of this company started about 40 years ago with the manufacturing and trading of Sheesham solid wood to the local merchandisers. Soon, they were opened up to the world for the good quality they produced. The increasing demand for aesthetic furniture in the Indian market led them to start their career in furniture designing and styling.
Soon, this business transitioned to become a producer of high quality, ethnic furniture that impressed customers who wanted to make a beautiful home!
The vision of Saraf is to inspire communities by leveraging on its three key values- Principle, Passion, and Perfection. They work under the tagline “WE DO IT”!
Their specialty:
Every piece of furniture they design is exclusively made of solid Sheesham wood. This wood grows locally in India and the sub- Himalayan region. The most peculiar quality of this wood is that, no two pieces look alike. At Saraf, they are treated and seasoned to provide top-notch quality of furniture.
All the products they manufacture are offered with a lifetime warranty. This makes all the difference and hence their business stands out!
They have skilled wood selectors who handpick wooden logs and bring them to manufacturing units for further processes. The logs are cut very precisely to maintain the strength and stability of wood.
All the furniture is 100% termite resistant as they are treated with industry specified techniques. Saraf takes much effort in seasoning the wood and they use a very scientific seasoning process to ensure the best quality.
The most important part of furniture making is designing. Saraf has a team of extremely skilled and experienced craftsmen and polish-men who work to produce beautiful, exquisite furniture pieces that is just about right for your house or garden.
Before these beautiful pieces are delivered to your house, they are checked by the supervisors to make sure you get the perfect product.
Highlights:
- Saraf has its showrooms opened in Bangalore, Delhi, Surat, Ahmedabad, and Rajasthan. They are looking forward to extending their branches.
- Saraf provides free delivery of its products throughout India.
- They have a strong and dedicated workforce of up to 1500 people.
- With the Pan India network of delivery and shipping options, they provide a hassle-free and safe delivery of products with no costs.
- They have a strong service network that provides support for assembling and installation of the products. These services can be provided to most parts of the country efficiently.
- Saraf provides a plethora of collections and designs from which you can pick the ones close to your heart and which will best suit the space you want to fit it into.
- Not only do they provide standard designs but they can also customize designs as per your wish. Saraf’s skilled craftsmen can design your furniture just the way you want it to be.
Saraf does not limit its manufacturing for just homes. They design all kinds of furniture for hotels, bars, studios, and any outdoor spaces. In addition to that, they also provide a lifetime warranty for termite resistance. Get a peek into Saraf Furniture and choose the best pieces to adorn your workspace.
What made you strike this business idea? What inspired you to start this company?
Raghunandan Saraf – Saraf furniture is a 4-decade old company. The business was not new, but yes, indeed the idea was new-fangled. The idea was to foray the manufacturing unit into an online furniture space as insaraf.com. The shift in the business module was based on web usage by the people, was in spring. Things just don’t grow that fast, it was extremely unusual. The unusual inspired me to take up the swing and give people what they are in search of and in need of.
When did you start your business?
Raghunandan Saraf – We launched the online business module as ‘insaraf.com’ in April 2014.
What does success mean to your company?
Success is the constant victory over anything in the battle of business. Success not solitary means monetary success but can also be gauged by; Did we hit our sales target? Did we get pressed? Did our engagement increase? Did we build any new happy customers? And finally did we make a mark on the world? Being a customer-centric company, Saraf furniture stands for the customer and with the customer in every case. So success means all of the above.
How are you performing currently?
Raghunandan Saraf – Saraf furniture, was prompt and supple in accomplishing their short term goals, by following a customer centric approach. We could capture the market really quick. We have grown admirably in the past 12 months and our below mention figures to articulate them:
- Current Account Valuation : 13 million USD , i.e 90 Crores INR Approx
- On an average we have 1.3 million engaging online store visitors per annum
- Orders Executed so far : 25000+
What is the biggest risk to your company?
Raghunandan Saraf – The business operates on risk and with risk. Not taking any risk is the biggest risk for any company. The risk can be of any substance like financial risk, market risk, credit risk, etc. One of the biggest risks would be; unable to deliver the services to the customers. Your business solely depends on the presale and after-sale services, and when you tend to fail in delivering them, your company is under the largest risk. Being a customer-centric company this risk continues to be along
What are your plans for the funding?
Raghunandan Saraf – We are a bootstrapped startup company. We believed in our exclusivity of solid Sheesham wood and thoroughly relied on our saving and on the short revenues to operate the business efficiently. We wish to grow without any support of outsourced funding or any joint venture capital.
What is the biggest challenge you faced during your start-up setup?
Raghunandan Saraf – Business is all about risk and challenges. At the initial stage of setting up the startup, we lacked the awareness in the people about the genuine quality of Sheesham wood furniture and the regular furniture. They considered them as equivalent wooden furniture, which was not at all the case. To conquer the unawareness, we launched our brick and mortar showrooms in the various metro cities of India. Thereby making it easy for the people to touch, feel, and understand the difference between the original and counterfeit wooden furniture. ‘Virtue and Genuine grace in themselves speak what no words can utter’, it did speak for us.
What does growth mean to you and your business?
Raghunandan Saraf – The perspective of growth varies from one person to another person. From 0 to 1 million happy customers, we are one big happy family. That’s where the saraf furniture’s actual growth is realized. Ideally, it also means growth in revenue, with the eventual objective of returning a profit that enables investors to gain a return on their investment.
How does your product stand different from others in the market?
Raghunandan Saraf – Saraf furniture is known for banking on the exclusivity of manufacturing and selling the genuine quality solid Sheesham wood furniture. Our products are affordable and reasonably priced with a difference of 35% – 60% and 65% – 110% from online and offline sellers respectively. Thereby cutting the space for the middlemen and lending it to the customers in much affordable price and utmost quality.
Where are your start-up services spread?
Raghunandan Saraf – We have broadened our horizon in eminent metro cities of India. Our brick and mortar showroom flags are rising high at Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Hyderabad. We have landed our online express in each and every house of India through e-commerce website , Android and IOS applications.
What does it feel to be the founder of your start-up? How does it feel getting up every morning and getting on to work?
Raghunandan Saraf – The journey of being the founder of insaraf.com is exceptionally amazing and will be the same in the mere future. I started my journey with a single step and reached the thousand-mile journey very quickly. Yet there are many miles to walk as the journey is very long. I work as if this is the first and the last day of my work, so every shot I give, I love to give it at its best.
Where do you see your business standing in the next 5 years?
Raghunandan Saraf – In the next 5 years, we have pipelined our express to raise the flag in new metro cities of India. By growing the needs of our happy customers and engaging visitors we are enhancing our footprints in the major cities of India like Chennai, Aamchi Mumbai, Pune, and finally to the gateway of North East India i.e Guwahati. By broadening the horizons all over India the accounting Valuation would enlarge to 45 million USD.