Sivarani
Founder/CEO
For Founder and CEO, Ms Sivarani, it was never a bed of roses for her from the start. First and foremost, Rani chose to become a beautician at that time, a trade which was considered unglamorous and demeaning to the Indian community.
It took a lot courage and determination for Rani to convince her parents, having wanted to bring the concept of beauty to a totally different height with the community. To do that, Rani had to learn all about the beauty trade. So much so, she had to leave her family and travel to India to take up beauty courses. This needed much discipline and courage on her part as it was never easy for a woman to travel alone.
The next step for Rani was to open her own salon and she knew it was an uphill task. As the saying goes, God only helps those who help themselves. And for Rani, her help came in the form of her father. Her father had just retired and has SGD 30 000 in his account. He gave it all to his daughter, knowing it would not go to waste and with the belief that she would become someone great in life.
Knowing the value of hard earned money, Rani determined to achieve the realization of her dreams and that of her fathers. Rani opened her first Rupinis outlet in Yishun in 1994. At that time, it was unheard for an Indian beauty salon to exist among the stiff competition of already established salons in the suburbs. Rani knew she could not afford to hire any staff and thus she had to work alone. Despite this, she was even more fervent to strive through it all on her own until her goals were achieved.
Advertisements were a luxurious tool that Rani could not afford, thus she handed out flyers with the help of her friends and family from door to door. Through her hard work coupling with her excellent customer service skills, it paid off with customers pouring into her Yishun salon.
Rani realized that she would need a larger salon to cater to the crowd. With much hesitation, she closed her Yishun salon and moved to Serangoon Road, the very heart of the Indian community. She employed 6 new staff to assist her with manning the salon. This move boosted her morale further and inspired her to be a trendsetter and style icon for fashion conscious ladies to emulate.
In July 2005, Rani opened a second salon at Midpoint Orchard. Then in October the same year, she made Rupinis presence known internationally at Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rupinis now has salons located in Little India, Orchard Midpoint, Yishun, Clarke Quay and Tampines.
Besides that, Rani has 2 new salons just for men called Rugged Vanity. In the pipeline, Rupinis aims to open 2 more salons at Raffles Place and in the west zone of Singapore.
