Danube Home is the home décor and furniture wing under the diverse Danube Group, which aims to meet the demand for quality furniture in the region. Under Sajan’s leadership, Danube Home showrooms have expanded into countries outside the UAE including Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. Danube Home aims to serve as a one-stop destination to offer furniture, furnishing items and interior design assistance. With products being sourced from the US, Germany, Turkey, Spain, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Italy, the Danube Home portfolio comprises up to 50,000 individual products. It also has an e-commerce website making new strides in the GCC market.

Last month, Danube Home pledged to donate 10 percent of its May profits towards supporting coronavirus relief efforts in India. The relief initiative, which was handled by Danube Home Foundation, primarily donated to oxygen provider agencies as well as NGOs in Mumbai. The foundation also invited Danube Home customers to contribute to the cause.

Lessons learned

While he agrees that hindsight is 20/20, age and experience brings wisdom and clarity to life, says Sajan. “With the aid of hindsight, looking back to when I was 18, I would say that I was very determined in my abilities and my thought process. I was a risk-taker and a daredevil believer, however, I would be let down very easily whenever I failed.”

Today, Sajan recognises that he, like most 18-year-olds, wasn’t necessarily equipped with the tools to get most things right – and that’s OK. “You don’t need to get everything right because life is a journey of self-exploration and discoveries in which falling and missing the target are every bit as meaningful as moments of triumph and getting back up.”

If he had known this then, Sajan adds that he probably would have taken more risks.

“My advice to all the 18-year-olds out there who are buzzing with lots of innovative ideas, is to go out there and take a risk and implement your plan. The world is merely your oyster, all it will take is some grit and hard work. Rome wasn’t built in a day, was it?”

One value that Sajan learned from his father early on, which he believes is imperative for young people to learn, is the importance of acting with a sense of urgency. “A lot of people, especially the younger folks, are buzzing with lots of innovative ideas, however, lack the art of effective and speedy implementation. Successful people are those who can transform an idea to reality quickly with hard work, consistency and a clear goal-driven attitude.”

Furnishing the future

Looking into his crystal ball, Sajan foresees huge opportunities ahead for digital and e-commerce platforms for the home furnishing industry. While he says the pandemic helped usher in “five-fold” growth in Danube Home’s e-commerce sales over 2020, most MENA retailers in the sector retain a brick-and-mortar mind set – something Sajan contrasts with Danube Home, which he says is building a “complete pure PLAY model”.

“We are trying to create a robust strong ecosystem suitable to an e-commerce business, which includes multiple initiatives such as virtual walkthroughs of our stores, Zoom appointments for VIP customers and realistic plug-and-play interior designing software, where customers can design their house online in minutes using augmented reality and virtual reality.” He adds Danube Home Services, the brand’s newest division, is getting plenty of attention.

“E-commerce in the future will be all about how the customer will interact with your product. We have already made strides in this field and have begun using 360-degree cameras for our e-commerce shoots, which help us provide our clients real-life 3D-rendered images of the actual product. These are just a few of the innovative things that will keep us ahead of the curve.”