Flower and gifting firm Ferns N Petals is planning to expand its operation in overseas markets of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia in the next two years, according to a top company official. The company, which is aiming to be a Rs 1,000 crore company by FY2022-23, is quite bullish on the online segment. It has launched new services and is investing up to Rs 30 crore on technology in the next 18 months to tap the opportunity in the e-commerce segment in the post-COVID era.
"We will be expanding in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia. By the end of FY2022-23, we will be a Rs 1,000 crore company, with presence in five countries other than India," Ferns N Petals CEO Retail & Online – India, UAE & Singapore Pawan Gadia told PTI. Presently, Ferns N Petals, a 27-year-old company, has a presence in foreign markets like the UAE and Singapore.
"In the UAE we are number two player and Singapore number four-player and we plan to be the leading player in one or two years," he said adding that at the end of next two years, we would have presence in five countries." Ferns N Petals operates in three verticals wedding halls and banquets, retail shop of flower and cakes and online business.
The company had a turnover of around Rs 500 crore in FY2019-20. However, it expects a hit of around 15-20 percent in its top line due to lockdown disruptions in the market. "In Q1 our banquet business was zero, the retail business was down to 30 per cent of what was last year. However, our online business has grown about 25 per cent," he said adding that the company expects to continue its growth momentum in online sales going forward.
The company expects normalcy in its wedding business as the government had permitted gathering with limited people under Unlock 3.0 and retail business of flowers and cake to be subdued in the coming quarters. "We expect online business to grow by 35 percent this year," he said.
Post-COVID-19, the company has witnessed an increase in its e-commerce business and has also started digital gifting. "When COVID-19 hit the market, we started the digital gifting business. We have specialty to adapt and change," he said, adding Ferns N Petals is investing heavily in technology and will put Rs 25 to 30 crore in technology in the next 18 months.
In its digital gift portfolio, Ferns N Petals has introduced several services which include Celebrity Video Message, Violinist on Call, Fitness on Call, and Poet on Call. "We are known as flower brand, however, in this Rakhi season, for example, we would be doing around six to seven lakh deliveries of rakhi at doorsteps in the country and around two lakhs in the other parts of the world, he said adding that it could also be Rakhi coupled with gifts as chocolates, dry fruits, sweets, plants, etc.
In the online business, Ferns N Petals gets 40 percent turnover from cakes, 30-35 percent from flowers and 10 percent from personalised category. "We get 2,000 orders per day for personalised category," Gadia said.
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