With ₹5L Investment, This Man Builds a ₹2000 Cr Valued Furniture Brand

Wooden Street was founded by Udaipur-based entrepreneur Lokendra Singh Ranawat, who was then joined by his brother Virendra Ranawat, alongside close friends Dinesh Pratap Singh and Vikas Baheti, enriching the brand with their collective vision and expertise.

The brand sells affordable and sustainable designer furniture across India through a direct-to-consumer (D2C) model.

While having a secure job in a foreign country like the UK was a dream for many, Udaipur-based Lokendra Singh Ranawat was already living that dream. However, something was causing unrest and a feeling of void within him. He often had the urge to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. Leaving behind a cushy job and lavish lifestyle in the UK, he returned to India to tap into the wood market at 33.

Lokendra Ranawat and the other co-founders of Wooden Street come from families working in civil and national services, with no exposure to business or entrepreneurship. Lokendra Ranawat, who studied engineering in Jaipur, mentioned a humble upbringing during childhood. He has done his B.Tech degree in Electronics & Communications from GSET, Jaipur.  After that, Lokendra worked with an IT company named Birlasoft in London (UK), where he managed the marketing and engineering design divisions.

He shared with Startup Pedia, “My father, who is a retired naval officer, and my wife, were strong pillars of support when I decided to quit my job to start something of my own. The decision was not easy as I was a married man with responsibilities.”

The Inception of Wooden Street

For Lokendra Ranawat, the seeds of Wooden Street were sown during his time working in London in 2010. Despite having a flourishing career in the UK, he felt a calling to return to his roots in Rajasthan and build something meaningful with the artisans of his homeland.

The co-founder’s interest led him to explore many art galleries in London and read articles. The marketplaces were scarce, and online platforms did not have the home decor and furniture back in 2012. He returned to Chittorgarh in 2012 to embark on the journey of entrepreneurship. Lokendra decided to settle in Udaipur as he felt it offered better opportunities.

Lokendra reflected, “I founded a digital marketing company from home to start with. We were initially a team of around 2 that soon became 100, focusing on SEO, e-commerce, and website development. We mainly served UK and US clients.”

However, Lokendra was driven to build something to cater to Indian consumers. With this aim, he launched an Ecommerce website. 

“I used to go to Udaipur, talk to vendors there, click photos of their handmade products, and launch them on my website. The idea was to sell those products through my e-commerce website,” mentioned the Udaipur-based entrepreneur.

They started by selling handicraft products like wall shelves, artefacts, and temples, eventually entering the furniture space. In the furniture industry, the Udaipur furniture brand began by selling beds, sofas, and dining sets, then expanded to include coffee tables, centre tables, etc.

After some time, the other co-founders of Wooden Street, his brother Virendra Ranawat, and friends Dinesh Pratap Singh and Vikas Baheti joined the business.

The expansion came with challenges, as some professional manufacturers and vendors could not produce the products on time, with quality being compromised. To succeed in this space, Lokendra and his team set up an R&D unit and started manufacturing, becoming one of the largest manufacturers in the country today.

In 2015, Lokendra Ranawat, the co-founder and CEO of Wooden Street, conceived the idea of establishing a customized furniture brand to fill a gap in the Indian market. This vision led to the establishment of Wooden Street. 

The brand initially customized furniture as per customer needs. The idea of customized furniture attracted a great response from customers, and in no time, Wooden Street became India’s first online custom furniture store.

Affordable Luxury Furniture Brand

Lokendra added that the brand is a mix of great designs and affordability, which is rare in the Indian market. Wooden Street co-founders travelled to different parts of India, visited global fairs, and went to China to learn about the ever-evolving design landscapes and trends.

The co-founder of Wooden Street explained, “Customers first discover our products on Wooden Street website. For those seeking a closer look and a more tangible experience with our offerings, our nearby stores provide an excellent opportunity. It’s important to note, though, that all purchases are seamlessly facilitated online, ensuring a unified and convenient shopping experience.”

The leading furniture brand opened its first store in Bangalore in 2015, and today it has over 97 company-owned stores all over India. The brand is delivering to 300 cities in India. Cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Gurgaon,  and Chennai contribute to its major sales.

Wooden Street, headquartered in Udaipur, comprises a big team of furniture designers and is a key differentiator in the furniture market based on their designs, product quality, and pricing. According to the co-founder, Wooden Street is 20% cheaper than other designer furniture players in India.

He further claimed, “We are the sole furniture company in India that operates both manufacturing and online sales at a significant scale. Additionally, we have the largest R&D unit. He emphasized that their manufacturing unit allows for innovation without limitations.”

“Understanding that customers often seek hands-on experience with furniture before making a purchase, we were quick to innovate. Our initiative to open physical stores was driven by our commitment to meet the needs of our customers, providing them with the opportunity to interact with our furniture up close." said the Udaipur-based furniture brand co-founder.

Wooden Street, a ‘Make in India’ focused brand, uses sheesham wood, teak and white ash as major raw materials to create their beautifully crafted furniture products. Manufacturing of the furniture products is done in Rajasthan and Bangalore. It deals not only in machine-made products but also in hand-made products. 

Solid wood furniture is made of Sheesham, mango wood, and teak wood while modular pieces are created from particle board and MDF. They have manufacturing facilities that span approximately to an area of 15 lakh square feet.

The techie-turned-entrepreneur said, “We are a sustainable brand as we make sure that the timber for solid wood comes from sustainable forests. The packing materials are completely recyclable.”

Wooden Street's commitment to innovation wasn’t furniture-limited. It launched an in-house brand called Earthy Threads in 2023, which consists of curtains, bed sheets, cushion covers, table runners, and other furnishing products. The company also launched Light Street three months ago, with offline stores in Mumbai and Jaipur. 

Financial Journey of Wooden Street

The furniture brand, built with an investment of Rs 5 lakh, has been profitable from the first year. It recorded revenue of around Rs 50 lakh in FY-16. The second year saw an exponential jump to Rs 6.5 crore in FY-17, followed by Rs 14.5 crore in FY-18. 

Wooden Street witnessed revenue worth Rs 34 crore in FY-19, depicting 100% YOY growth. Last year, FY-23, the Udaipur-based furniture brand clocked revenue of Rs. 200 crore. 

“We aim to close the financial year (FY-24) at Rs. 300 crore as we are currently making a monthly revenue of Rs 35 crore. The EBITDA now stands at around 6-7%. The company is now valued at Rs 2,000 crore.”, said Udaipur techie Lokendra.  

Talking about the funding raised by the brand so far, Lokendra said that Wooden Street first secured seed capital of $1 million from RVCF in 2018. The next round of investment was with IAN in 2020 in which the company raised $3 million in Series A funding. In April 2022, Wooden Street raised $30 million in a Series B funding round, led by Westbridge Capital. 

The Road Ahead: Scaling New Heights

The brand’s target is to open 300 stores in the next 18 to 24 months, touching revenue of Rs 800-1,000 crore. “We want to be India’s number one furniture, home decor and furnishing brand,” said the Udaipur entrepreneur and co-founder. As the brand continues to soar, Wooden Street plans to expand globally by starting operations in the US and UK.

Signing off, Lokendra Ranawat, in a message to budding entrepreneurs, said, “If you want to become a successful entrepreneur, rather than a dreamer, you have to take the plunge. There is no other way.”