The Hindu Business Line : Of flowers and franchises

Say it with flowers, seems to be the axiom Managing Director Vikaas Gutgutia has been following for over a decade. And he seems to be walking the talk, considering that from a nondescript florist shop in New Delhi's South Extension in 1994, his company Ferns 'N Petals has been able to transform itself into a brand recognised across the country. With a re-branding exercise under way and a diversification into the unrelated food retail sector, Gutgutia expects the Rs 60-crore company to grow big enough to warrant an initial public offer two years down the line.

" The initial six years were full of struggle. Though I came from a family that was in the flowers business and hence was familiar with the ropes, some litigation and bringing in the right business partners took time. The next six years from 2000 onwards were the growth phase - we became a known brand and the only organised player in the segment. Besides, to expand into different related areas we constantly kept ploughing back profits into the company," says Gutgutia, making it amply clear that there are two philosophies he follows. He prefers to use internal accruals as against debt or private equity to grow or diversify, and second, he likes to go in alone sans partners.

An outlet of the florist's chain

However, Ferns 'N Petals has managed to use the franchisee route to its advantage. Apart from some shops, the rest are franchised, so much so that the chain has received awards for its models in both 2003 and 2004. It currently has 50 outlets nationwide with an additional network of 65 strategic alliances for national deliveries and 156 vendor partners overseas for global deliveries.

It successfully introduced the concept of lifestyle flower boutiques in the country, turning them into designed air-conditioned outlets that offer fresh, artificial and dry flowers and a vast range of objets d'art such as scented candles, candle stands, glass vases and gift accessories, among others.

"Till now people were used to the roadside flower seller, but with our designer look we introduced a whole new flower buying experience," says Gutgutia. To take the business forward, he also introduced an online flower retail service that helped grow the business further.

The company then diversified into the events segment, taking orders for exclusive designing for weddings and corporate functions. And seeing that this had a substantial market, it went one step further. It tied up with couturier J.J. Valaya of the House of Valaya to start a luxury flower boutique, Valaya.Fnp Fleur in October last year. At the launch, Valaya had said, "My personal belief in unbound luxury lifestyles led us to lend our brand and aesthetic strengths to this venture and more importantly, in Vikaas and FNP, we found an able and committed organisation to associate with."

Gutgutia explains the association, "I saw opportunity knocking at our door. There was a certain segment of the wealthy that wanted high quality and exclusive designs. We are planning to have more such designer outlets, some even outside India." Along with the Valaya signature collections of floral installations, Valaya.FNP Fleur will also commission leading international floral designers including those in Singapore and Belgium to design and showcase a special line of floral art.

However, to bring in the volumes, next on the cards are flower carts, many of which may even replace the phoolwalla on street corners. The flower carts would be branded, mobile and in all likelihood be offered to the local street flower vendors to run. "However, for this plan we need all our franchise partners to agree and that will be discussed during our annual franchisee meeting in a few months," he says.

"From a phoolwalla, I'm going to turn into a chaatwalla," says Gutgutia in jest, detailing his latest retail foray into the street food segment. Christened Chatak Chaat, it plans to take on the Western fast food segment of burgers and pizzas. It will offer all the traditional favourites — from chhole bhature and dahi raj kachori ki chaat to aaloo tikki and bambaiya ragda. Chatak Chaat attempts to take street food into a hygienic chain which will offer its food in four formats. There will be standalone outlets, kiosks, carts and mobile vans that can reach a consumer's doorstep on request. "We are formatting our business right now, though we already have a pilot project running. To start with, we plan to have around six outlets in Delhi, two in Mumbai and three in Chennai. The food will be standardised like other chains, with the recipes' bar-coded and pre-mixed," he says.

Chatak Chaat is also planning to foray overseas. The logic? If burgers and pizzas work here, why not puchkas and paani puri in markets where the chicken tikka masala and kebabs are a rage? Another great idea from FNP, but of course it remains to be seen if the company is able to build another brand from its food business.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Of flowers and franchises

`Marketing, tech have to connect for success'

`BCCI must develop cricket, not control it'

The goodness of dirt

A Ta Ra Rum Pum of brands

Experience to influence

For Mom