Khachi Design Group
Location: Oakville, Ont.
Employees: 13
Annual Revenues: $5 million
Appeared in: January/February 2012
Ramsin Khachi isn’t just a contractor these days. The guy and his company are a brand. Around the time he was featured in the magazine in a story on basements, the Oakville-based entrepreneur was splitting his company up into three.
The contracting arm, which relies heavily on sub-trades, does renovation work. The design business draws up full buildings and renovations. And the decorator business offers finishing touches. “There was so much demand for people using our services individually,” he says of the reason for pulling things apart. These separate units allow a designer to draw up a project and the contracting arm to bid on it, sometimes against other companies. Decorators work on his projects, and others too. “It keeps every facet accountable. When you throw it all into one pile, it’s hard to know which part of it is making money.”
Meanwhile, the company recently launched an e-commerce site called Bazuva.com that sells the unique design finds Khachi has sourced over the years: lamps, cabinet hardware, wooden stools and even toys, many with a modern edge. It’s complemented by an online magazine/blog called Khachilife, an image-driven site that muses on art and design and is written mainly by Khachi himself. He still appears on Marilyn Dennis and does TV shows when he travels through the U.S. too.
Somewhere in there, the company pulls off its top-notch renovation projects. That includes work on a massive, modern cottage in Kenora, Ont.
The blossoming of this brand has meant serious growth for the company. “We’re bursting at the seams,” says Khachi of the company’s head office. Finding a new location in Oakville is proving a challenge. But the Khachi Group decorates the city’s annual Christmas tree and is involved in numerous local events and organizations. The brand’s on a tear, but this business knows where its loyalties lie and won’t be moving far from home any day soon.
—By Diane Peters