The Hindu Business Line : Roses all the way

If there were to be an alert for every rose sold across the country on any given day, the cash registers would never stop ringing on February 14. When it comes to single-day sales of roses, Valentine's Day is gallops ahead of its 363 competitors (Mother's Day comes a close second).

Of course, there aren't, as those in the business emphasise, any "audited figures for country-wide sales", but an off-the-cuff guesstimate puts the number close to around five million.

The price for V-Day's most wanted item — long-stemmed red roses — hits the proverbial ceiling, touching Rs 25 per stem over the Rs 2.50 on ordinary, `less loved' days. Looks like the saint from ancient Rome who has lent sociable expression to romantic nuance has managed to trigger off more than just a cultural revolution. The moral police might be miffed, but few others are complaining. Clearly there are big bucks to be made. Naturally, there are some big guys in the fray. From growers, to stockers to sellers, there is a piece of luscious pie for the asking.

In keeping with the times, it ought to come as no surprise that it is the online market for all V-Day deliveries, and roses in particular, that is registering the fastest growth. Says Pawan Gadia, Vice-President, Ferns `N' Petals, the only branded chain of retail flower stores in India, "Over the last few years, online sales have been growing 60 per cent year on year, while orders from our brick and mortar outlets are growing at a more modest pace of 25-37 per cent." By the time February 14, 2007, is behind them, Gadia's company expects to service 25,000-30,000 orders averaging 20 roses each. And since they buy their blooms from a wholesaling company on an annualised order basis, by April, they will begin work on putting the system in place to service the 50,000 orders they expect for next year's V-Day.

Saikat Ghosh, proprietor of a Delhi-based outfit that has 120 outlets across the country, reports the growth of online sales on V-Day to be even more dramatic. "My business has grown 150 per cent year on year," he says. With 5,000-6,000 deliveries on hand, and growing, his enthusiasm is well founded.

The business of delivering thousands of blooms on a single day, right-message-on-the-right-bouquet intact, calls for some skilful juggling when it comes to time management. The perishable nature of the product doesn't help either. "It is a mad, mad rush," says Sunanda Singh, who has been in the rose-delivering business for the past six years. She and her troupe work round the clock for the few days prior to the actual day, putting baskets, oases and frills in place, messages tagged on. The roses are procured on the night of February 13, plugged in, dew-dropped with a spray of aqua pura, embellished with a touch of glitter, and they are ready to add a dash of romance into many a life the next morning.

The "popular size", as far as the number of blooms goes, is a dozen long stemmed (50 cm) roses. Red, naturally! As for the customer profile, the younger men — age group 17 to 45 — exhibit higher romantic tendencies, though the men to women ratio of customers isn't widely imbalanced, standing as it does at 60:40.

"We also see a growing number of serenade orders," says Pune-based Abha Arora, proprietor of Global Flower Deliveries. Which means that beginning February 10, the love interest receives a series of goodies — chocolates, teddy bears, candies and cakes — before the grand finale of red roses. The particularly romantically inclined carry on the good work for a couple of days more after the critical date with an obvious eye on brownie points. There is also the occasional Don Juan who doesn't blink at sending bouquets 500-rose strong, with ditto messages, to a string of lovely ladies.

With red roses the cynosure of all eyes, no wonder then, that all links in the supply chain work assiduously to ensure that the demand can be met. At the grower's end, work begins immediately after Christmas when the extra buds are cut to ensure that the right stem-length is attained. Flowers are also stocked in cold storage for the timed release, and with certainty, if you are scouting the stores for red roses in the days leading up to V-Day, drop the idea. Nobody's selling!

In the days of yore, when St Valentine secretly went about his chosen mission before being put to death by Claudius II, scores of lovers benefited. Today, there is a whole new league of beneficiaries.

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