In an illuminating interview, Saraf Furniture founder Raghunandan Saraf gives a firsthand look at his entrepreneurial journey launching and leading one of India’s most renowned furniture brands for over two decades. Read on for his insightful reflections on the key lessons from Saraf’s early days that still drive success, timeless advice to young entrepreneurs, strategic views on navigating digital disruption and sustainability trends reshaping furniture, and a peek into the next chapter of omnichannel growth.
Through his wise and humble responses, Saraf sheds light on how staunch perseverance, a thirst for constant learning, and deep care for serving customers have been and always will be the guiding principles at the heart of the Saraf Furniture story since he first began selling solid wood furnishings. For any business leader or aspiring founder, Saraf’s words offer an abundance of down-to-earth truth and inspiration.
You started Saraf Furniture at the young age. What key lessons did you learn in those early days as a first-generation entrepreneur that still guide you today?
I started Saraf Furniture fresh out of college at the young age of 25. Those early days taught me so much about grit, persistence and creativity - lessons that still push me today. I learned that you have to work hard and keep grinding no matter what. Nothing replaces pure determination. I also realized that you need to constantly innovate and try new things in a nascent business.Finally, I understood the importance of treasuring your customers and building relationships for the long-term. Their support and loyalty is everything.
If you could go back and advise your 25 year-old self when you were just getting started, what are 3 key pieces of advice you'd impart?
If I could go back to my 25-year-old self when Saraf was just getting off the ground, my advice would be: First, don’t fear mistakes, dare to try new ideas even if some may fail - that’s how you learn. Second, obsess over perfecting your craft before you scale rapidly. Once we deeply specialized in solid wood furniture, growth became easier. Finally, hire people smarter than yourself early on! Finding advisors and a strong founding team accelerates what you can achieve tremendously.
The furniture industry is seeing a rise of D2C brands. What opportunities or challenges do digital disruptors like these pose for established players like Saraf Furniture?
D2C brands pose exciting opportunities to educate consumers and provide personalized experiences that established players have lagged at. However, their asset-light models can lack quality control. So they incentivize us to tighten our integration, showcase furniture craftsmanship at scale and invest in customization. We recently launched Saraf Standard as our D2C brand to complement our B2B channels, blending digital ease and high-touch service.
Sustainability is an increasing focus in furniture. How is Saraf aiming to become more eco-friendly across sourcing, manufacturing and delivery?
Sustainability guides everything we do today at Saraf - from FSC certified timber sourcing to water recycling in manufacturing to eco-friendly packaging in delivery. We’re also expanding our recycled furniture line. Our Faridabad plant will soon run 80% on solar energy. And we aim to turn carbon neutral in the next 5 years through offsets. It’s not always easy or cheap to become sustainable, but it drives innovation that will define the future of Indian furniture.
Online furniture purchases are expected to grow exponentially in coming years. What omnichannel initiatives is Saraf Furniture planning to provide blended online and offline experiences?
The furniture shopping journey today blends online discovery and offline experiential purchase. Saraf is focused on providing that seamless omnichannel experience. We’re unifying inventory across retail stores and websites so customers can purchase anytime, anywhere. In-store digital tools like VR configurators and smart checkout empower decision-making. While at-home AR trial and assembly services build confidence for bigger online purchases. Marrying digital convenience with human touch remains key.
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