By Tricitynews
Chandigarh 08th June:- A game of
chess is a simulated war and at around the same time when the Global Grand
Masters of Chess were shifting hands from the likes of Bobby Fischer of USA to
the Russian dominance of Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik
and to our own undisputed Indian Grandmaster - Vishwanathan Anand, there was
another visionary entrepreneur from Chandigarh who was teaming up with artisans
of Amritsar and dreaming big to introduce Classy Collector’s Chess Board items and
Luxurious Wooden Chess Pieces and on the Global Map.
It was in
Year 1998, that a dreamy eyed 22 year old entrepreneur of Chandigarh, Punjab
began exploring the World of business and strategies. Inspite of being the Son
of a noted Government employee with no entrepreneurial background, Vikramjit’s
creative instincts and acumen for business knew no boundaries. Journey began
with a friend in year 1998 to supply labour as a partnership firm and by 1999 from
running an IT Company in field of medical transcription to becoming a real
estate contractor, from planting nurseries to becoming a Taxi operator,
Vikramjit’s entrepreneurial mind was continuously looking for new battlefields
to conquer. And when a friend introduced him to the world of Online Portal
market in around 2007, little did Vikramjit know that his world is going to
change forever.
Vikramjit
started his research and analysis to understand the world of eBay and online
market. Challenges were many. Poor Connectivity issues, Costly internet
connections, exploring unknown global technologies without much support. But
that did not deter his entrepreneurial spirit. His first product on display was
an Aquarium Fish feed and it became an instantaneous success. This success
paved the way to Vikramjit exploring the potential of online market and the
journey of CHESS BAZAAR.com
Established
in year 2007, the journey of Chess Bazaar began by chance from Amritsar flea
market, where Vikramjit’s exploring mind was scouting for creative tourist
souvenirs and collective items and his eyes fell on a Royal Set. The designs
and creativity of the Chess boards and the Chess sets intrigued Vikramjit so
much that he invested the meager Rs. 2000 he had to buy some 2-3 handmade sets.
He had to borrow a proper photography
camera to upload the photographs on an online portal and then there was no
looking back.
Today after almost
13 years, Chess Bazaar has become a global fad with customers all over USA,
Europe, Philippines, Singapore and different parts of the world. Chess Bazaar recently clocked a turnover of Rs.
5 Crores led by the vision of Vikramjit Singh, Founder and Managing Director of
ArtSmart (Chess Bazaar’s Parent Company).
Like many
other successful global brands, Vikramjit’s dreams also took shape in his
Garage and from there he started tapping the keys of his Old Outdated Computer to
reach out to global markets. However his knowledge in IT background to help
communicate in crisp and faster fashion on online portals , his negotiation
skills from real estate business to help in dealing with Punjabi laborers in
Amritsar, his customer service orientation skills to help understand the
requirements of his exquisite customers and his MA degree in English language,
all started to come together like a zigsaw puzzle. Like the 32 warriors on the
CHESS BOARD, all of Vikramjit’s skills, passion, and vision joined hands and
finally the Dream had began to take shape. It was on 18th December,
2007 that the first sale of CHESS BAZAAR.com happened and since then Chess
Bazaar has not looked back.
Challenges
were many but it’s only through continuous hit and trial methods, does one
master the art of online business. After
identifying global markets, suddenly packing and Shipping these delicate pieces
across the globe became an Achilles’ heel. There were no professional services
like DHL or FedEx in those times and even the Tax structures of global business
were not clear but entering Online business always meant business commitments
with newer continents and unexplored territories Pieces had to be shipped
meticulously ensuring minimum damage and refund complaints but Chess Bazaar was
always innovating, thinking of indigenous ways and was up for the
challenge.
By 2008, as
the “Game” became more challenging yet satisfying, Vikramjit started
winding up all other business and started forming a team of friends, experts
and vendors to give more focus on the business. Vikramjit’s better half too
joined in as a strong support and it was her motivation and encouragement that
helped Vikramjit to enhance his vision.
Today Chess
bazaar is a pioneer in reviving old and ancient designs and deals with rare/
fragile/ expensive and royal designs. Huge amount of research and analysis is
being dome to explore collector’s choice and luxurious pieces. Chess Bazaar
wishes to provide the rarest and most luxurious Chess Sets, Chess boards and
Chess accessories for every home.
Vikramjit Singh
shared that in last 3-4 years, we are growing at almost 50% CAGR and as the
online craze has now begun, we are exploring newer markets continuously for our
more than 3000 products and designs. Most of our markets are currently from USA
and Europe but now we are eyeing Indian market as well. After all, India is the
country where the game of Chess was invented, and he feels that Luxurious Chess
Sets should be a part of every Indian home.
He further
added that we are continuously exploring newer exotic stuff. From Brazilian
Wood to African Wood, we are trying to find the best combination of raw
material which can offer the most royal and elegant looks to our Chess Pieces
but at better affordable prices too. Most of our pieces are beautifully hand
crafted too and we are not using any dyes to mass manufacture Chess sets or
boards. From the dusty lanes of Amritsar we have started exploring new avenues
in Rajasthan, Kolkata, Mysore and understand lost forms of cultures and
dynasties. Chess was a game of the royals and our each piece is a collector’s
item in itself. A Chess board becomes an intriguing passion as you explore more
and more.
Vikramjit
Singh said that still awareness about CHESS BAZAAR amongst the affluent Indian
families is low and we are now conceptualizing some premium strategies in terms
of Online offerings and Offline stores to ensure that our luxurious collector’s
items reach out to Art Lovers, Sports Lovers, Interior decorators and to every Niche,
Premium and Classy Indian homes.
