Meet furniture seller with Rs 1000 crore revenue who rose from abject poverty, used to sell tea-powder, plastic items

Vijai Subramaniam is a first-generation entrepreneur who rose from poverty and built a company whose turnover was Rs 1,000 crore last year. He runs a furniture company called Royal Oaks.

He built the company after working hard for over two decades. He did B.com in graduation. He didn't do the master's course as he was the sole breadwinner of the family.

He told SMB Story that he was once cheated by a relative who promised to get him a job in Singapore.  He then moved to Kerala's Munnar where he started worked as a credit card agent.

He also once sold tea-powder to make a living. 

He came to Chennai in 1997. His first business was plastic items. He sold items worth Rs 2800 for 10 days at a government event.

In 2001, he opened a stall in Bengaluru's Safina Plaza. This proved to be a turning point in his life. Soon, Big Bazar asked him to set up a store in their outlet.

It was his first big break. During this period, he bought a car, got married and built a house. In 2004, he opened his first store. In 2005, he started importing Chinese furniture. In 2010, he set up another store, which marked the start of Royal Oak.

In 2015, he relaunched the company and streamlined operations. Over the last few years, the company has opened over 150 stores.

He told Hindu Business Line that he sources products from 280 factories all across the world. The company is aiming to open 100 stores in the financial year 2024.

He is the chairman of the company. He did his B Com from Government College, Chittoor.