Flower retail chain, Ferns and Petals (FNP) plans to double its retail stores in two years to over 200. The company is also venturing into floral exports and starting an academy to train florists.
The company that has 110 flower shops in 45 cities and supplies flowers in 150 countries through its online portal, also plans to grow its own roses and carnations.
The flower retailer has seen the Indian market growing steadily over the past few years, opening up opportunities for organised players. “We have grown to a turnover of Rs 100 crore with 110 shops in 16 years. But now we expect to
double the turnover as well as store strength in two years,” said Pawan Gadia, CEO, FNP.
Among the new shops, 15 will be owned by the company and the rest franchised. The company will spend a total of around Rs 50 crore in the next two years for the growth initiatives that include opening retail stores, starting flower cultivation and opening the training academy.
It will utilise its internal accruals for the initial phase and will raise private equity funds next year.
FNP has bought four hectares of land near Bangalore to grow roses and carnations for export purposes. Till now, it has been sourcing flowers from growers for its retail purposes. The academy, which would train around 100 florists in a batch, would be more of a part of the company’s backward integration.
Further, FNP will also extend its high-end wedding management services to Mumbai from Delhi.
According to Gadia, online business of FNP is registering over 60 per cent year-on-year growth.
“Similar to the West, Indians too are utilising different occasions to greet others with flowers. Several new occasions like Mothers Day and Fathers Day are now being celebrated by us. This has been keeping flowers in demand all through the year,’ he said. The prices of flowers also have been increasing every year with the rise in input costs.
Source : Financial Chronicle
