Shivam Dhingra | Owner of Casablanca Homeware & Gifts, Rockdale
, by Shivam Dhingra, 6 min reading time
Shivam Dhingra, owner of Casablanca Homeware & Gifts in Rockdale, Sydney, on the sales jobs, the run-down shop he took a chance on, and the philosophy behind a 1,000+ product kitchenware and gift store.
Walk into Casablanca Homeware & Gifts on Princes Highway in Rockdale today and you'll find a bright, organised store stocked with more than 1,000 kitchenware, cookware and gift products. It didn't start that way. Behind the shop is Shivam Dhingra, who bought the business from a retiring owner, took over a shop that badly needed work, and built it into what it is now — using lessons he'd picked up from years of sales jobs that had nothing to do with homeware.
A String of Sales Jobs Before Rockdale
Before Casablanca, Shivam worked door to door, behind a café counter as a barista, then at Sixt, Optus and Nick Scali. Every one of those jobs ran on the same incentive: sell as much as possible, as often as possible.
"In a sales job, you're always forced to upsell, always forced to close the sale regardless of what the person actually needs," Shivam says. "Sometimes I'd fall behind on my targets because I chose not to upsell someone on something they didn't need. But that built trust. Over time my numbers went back to the top, because I had the most returning customers; people who only came in to see me, wherever I was working."
That habit of selling only what people actually needed followed him into retail. It's the same reasoning that now shapes how he prices trusted cookware brands like Hawkins and Vinod in store — you can read the full story behind that here.
A Shop That Needed Saving
Casablanca Homeware & Gifts wasn't a business Shivam built from an empty shop. He bought it from a previous owner who'd run it for almost twenty years and was ready to retire.
"He wanted to retire; he had some other issues in his life and couldn't keep running it," Shivam says. "My uncle is an importer here in Sydney, and he told me the business was up for sale. I looked into it and bought it, so the shop wouldn't have to close, and to have something to call mine."
The store he took over wasn't in great shape. "It was run down when I got it; not painted, disorganised, smelled of cigarette smoke because the previous owner used to smoke inside," he says. "It wasn't in any shape a business should be in. What I've turned it into now is a complete 180."
Building a Range Around Quality, Not Just Categories
Today the store carries kitchenware and cooking tools, cookware and pressure cookers, rugs and blankets, tea sets and glassware, decorative pieces and giftware — but every product has to earn its place on the shelf.
"The last thing I want is a returning customer telling me, 'I bought this a while ago and it's already worn out,'" Shivam says. "I do not want a single customer walking in with something they bought from me that isn't living up to its standard. So, I'm very sceptical about what I stock, and who I buy it from. Longevity matters."
Serving Rockdale, Sydney and Customers Australia-Wide
Located in the heart of Rockdale on Princes Highway, Casablanca Homeware & Gifts welcomes local customers from across Sydney, including Rockdale, Kogarah, Brighton-Le-Sands, Hurstville, Arncliffe, Bexley and surrounding suburbs.
The business also serves customers Australia-wide through its online store, with free shipping on orders over $180; making it just as easy to shop from Rockdale as from anywhere else in the country.
Why Customers Keep Coming Back
The pricing philosophy Shivam brought over from his sales days is deliberate, not incidental. "I don't want to just make money off one customer over a single purchase," he says. "I want the customer to feel like they've paid a fair price, and to know this is a store where they'll always be priced fairly, not ripped off."
It's the same reason customers have started sharing their own finds; one customer even filmed herself cooking with a Vinod kadhai and posted it to TikTok, telling her followers she'd recommend it to friends and family.
Visit Casablanca Homeware & Gifts
Customers are welcome to visit Casablanca Homeware & Gifts in store or browse online.
Store: Shop 7, 466 Princes Highway, Rockdale NSW Website: casablancagifts.com.au Instagram: @casablanca_gifts TikTok: @casablanca_gifts_sydney Email: casablancagifts@outlook.com LinkedIn: Shivam Dhingra | LinkedIn
Want the full story on why Shivam won't mark-up trusted cookware brands like Hawkins and Vinod? Read it here.