Journey of Mr Vikaas Gutgutia – MD & Founder Ferns N Petals

It all started 27  years back, while he was studying in Kolkata, and used to help his uncle in his flower business when he developed interest and trading skills in being a florist. In 1994, he opened the first store of Ferns N Petals in the prime locality of Delhi. The air-conditioned ambiance and beautiful varieties of flowers captivated the attention of the customers. After getting an excellent response, he expanded into other regions of Delhi, and thus, the journey of delivering happiness continued. 

Now, the company has grown to be the largest brand which is delivering happiness and celebrating emotions across the world through 11 different verticals. Today, we lead the floral, gifting, and cakes industry with 400 outlets in 125 cities nationwide and a presence across the world. The brand has become a driver of marketplace innovation and a contributor to local economies. We introduced our E-Commerce division in 2002, and since then it has grown in leaps and bounds to become the Largest Gifting Portal in the country. Today, FNP delivers across 400 cities & towns across India and 120 countries worldwide. Ferns N Petals has kept itself abreast with new technology and gives the facility to its customers to order flowers and gifts anytime anywhere by just logging on to www.fnp.com. The delivery can be done within 2 hours anywhere in India or abroad.

After having established ourselves as market leaders in India, Ferns N Petals expanded its International Footprints into the South East Asian and Middle East space. We boast of a specific website www.fnp.ae for UAE and www.fnp.sg for Singapore to cater to the unique set of customers in each of these regions.

With special occasions or festivals lingering around the corner, we believe gifting culture symbolizes love, care, and gratitude. Hence, we are not only limited to cater to personal gifting needs for family and friends but also the corporate gifting requirements for a healthy bond with business associates and employees. We offer an array of impressive gifting products that are available all year-round and at affordable prices. Using our international delivery services, one can send corporate gifts to Singapore, Malaysia, USA, UK and 70+ other International locations also. 

Webnewswire: Considering FNP’s omnichannel presence, what percentage of your sales comes from digital channels vs on-ground retail stores?

Vikaas Gutgutia: We have always grown in double digits in the online space. Online is a significant portion of the group’s turnover. The online channel is our FNP’s backbone.  

• 70% of sales come from our digital channel and the rest comes from the retail stores
• The overall turnover of the company was around Rs500 crore in FY 2020-21. However, due to the unfortunate lockdown disruptions, we expect a hit of around 15-20 percent in its topline.

Webnewswire: Currently how many stores do you have across the globe? What are your plans for expanding your gifting portfolio?

Vikaas Gutgutia:

Ferns N Petals Flower Stores- 271 outlets in 125 cities

FNP Cake N More- 128 in 55 cities

FNP delivers across 400 cities & towns across India and 120 countries worldwide. Ferns N Petals has kept itself abreast with new technology and gives the facility to its customers to order flowers and gifts anytime anywhere by just logging on to www.fnp.com. The delivery can be done within 2 hours anywhere in India or abroad.

With special occasions or festivals lingering around the corner, we believe gifting culture symbolizes love, care, and gratitude. Hence, we are not only limited to cater to personal gifting needs for family and friends but also the corporate gifting requirements for a healthy bond with business associates and employees.

We offer an array of impressive gifting products that are available all year-round and at affordable prices.  Ferns N Petals is the first and the only Indian floral and gifting brand that delivers in 400+ locations that include megacities, big towns, and small villages.

Digital gifting launched in March 2020

• The digital gifting options include Musician on Call (Guitarist, Violinist Flue, etc.), Celebrity Video Message, Poet on Call, Personalized App, Digital Caricatures, Personalized Video message, etc.
• The musician on-call service can be availed by customers for any and every occasion like Birthday’s Anniversaries, friendship, father’s day, promotion, etc. and to express emotions like I am sorry, romantic, motivation, Get well soon, and so on.
• Guitarist on-call followed by Celebrity video message are the most popular choices
• Digital gifting options launched in the last week of March contributed to 40% of April’s revenue;
• The segment contributed 7%-8% of the overall FNP’s FY20-21 revenue

Webnewswire: What are your plans in the pipeline for international expansion?

Vikaas Gutgutia: We have launched our services, as well as store operations in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. FNP records double-digit growth in sales and revenue in the UAE, with the aim of expanding to KSA during the next quarter. With existing delivery services across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, we have created a niche in the UAE’s online market. As a part of our key expansion plan, we have opened a new retail store in Sharjah. The expansion in Sharjah will help customers choose from the wide range of gifting options and avail the satisfaction of taking them home right away. Since establishing FNP’s first branch in Dubai, UAE, the brand has seen a tremendous revenue increase, and we are confident about the incredible opportunities the region has to offer. We are now aiming to enter a new international market every three months. Ferns N Petals is constantly expanding into other sectors as well.

Growth & Turnover of the company

The company has grown by 55% from April 2020 to November 2020 and below is the growth percentage for the last three years:

• March’ 17 – 38%
• March’ 18 – 53%
• March’ 19 – 49%
• March 20 -21 – 35%

Some of the key milestones are:

         In 1994- First retail outlet opened in New Delhi

         In 1996- Did first wedding décor assignment

         In 2002- Launched www.fnp.com

         In 2003- Opened first wedding venue ‘The Kundan’

         In 2013- Launched ‘The Flagship Store’

         In 2014- Launched Wedding Design Hub

         In 2015- Went global through www.fnp.ae

         In 2016 – Udman (first hotel of the brand)

         In 2016- Crossed 1 million customers mark of www.fnp.com

         In 2017- Started FNP Cakes ‘N’ More

         In 2018 – Launched  ‘FNP Media’ a content & production house

         In 2018 – Successfully opened 300th Retail Outlet

         In 2019 -Entered into FMCG business by launching FNP Water

         In 2020 – Launched ‘Last Journey’ personalized funeral services 

Upgrade and Investment in Technology

Technology has always been the backbone of the Ferns N Petals business. This pandemic has called for more of it. Before this pandemic, 98% of our business involved doorstep delivery of gifts or flowers, which was rendered impotent due to the nationwide lockdown. To deal with this slowdown in business and depleting market sentiments, we turned this business disruption into an opportunity by developing Digital Gifting, which is absolutely contactless and delivered directly on the recipient’s mobile phone or email. We have ambitious growth plans, as we are moving towards a data-driven approach and embracing the power of data and technology, we are planning to invest up to INR 30 crores in technology in the next two years to boost our e-commerce segment and to become the Uber of gifting services.

FNP Gardens, Unit of Ferns N Petals

A wedding is like a dream!  And we help you turn that dream into reality!

FNP Gardens is today the one-stop solution for a dream wedding experience. From luxury to mid-range wedding venues at Chattarpur Central, The Kundan, Vilasa, Opulent, Shagun Farms, Udman, Pavilion, The Ritz, The Riviera, The Riviera House, and Azizaa farms, spread across Delhi and Gurgaon. Over a span of 3 years, FNP Gardens has successfully organized 1300+ Weddings until March 2020 & completed 80+ Weddings during the pandemic.

FNP Weddings

This pandemic has taken a toll on almost every industry in the world and the Indian Wedding Industry, estimated around $50 billion, has now come to a halt. All the summer and spring weddings at our 11 venues under FNP Gardens are either postponed or canceled. Many couples have chosen to postpone their weddings to the winter season of 2020 or the beginning of 2021, whereas few who have canceled the bigger celebration are now opting for an intimate wedding. Because of these cancellations, all the associated units such as caterers, designers, make-up artists, wedding vendors, or planners have been affected to the core. We see this year, the revenue continues to stay below expectations. But there is no question Indian weddings will return with a spike in growth in the coming years. 

Changes in the era of pandemic

The Indian wedding market is ever-growing and has multiplied multifold in the past few years. However, due to this ongoing pandemic, things may change but wedding functions will never stop in India and we will come back stronger. Since social distancing is the need of the hour, we are expecting a behavioral shift towards choosing the wedding venues. People will either opt for bigger space so that sufficient distancing can be maintained or they will prefer a smaller banquet that can accommodate only immediate family members.

Webnewswire: Role of sustainability in the wedding season

Vikaas Gutgutia: This year has made us realize, that it’s high time that we give more priority to sustainability. Being, the biggest floral chain in India, we have always been closer to the elements of nature and now we will also implement them in our weddings. All the arrangements, be it décor, catering, lighting, and so on will be done, minding the rules of sustainability. We are also promoting day weddings to support the idea of saving energy. On top of it, we are also planning to add eco-friendly elements to beautify the spaces for weddings. Therefore, we are trying to go on a sustainable path for weddings. 
Coping up with the changing trends | We would make all the required arrangements as per the need of the hour. Be it the setup of our venues, installing sanitizing tunnels, tweaking the buffet style, and so on… everything will be done in accordance with the need of the hour. There will be an emphasis on top-notch hygiene standards as well as ensure contactless services.

Webnewswire: Discussing Current Scenario

Vikaas Gutgutia: For people who planned their wedding during April’21, we suggested to most of the couples and their families to shift their weddings to October-November-December dates. Hopefully, by then the Covid situation should be under control, and the Govt. may be kind enough to give us better guidelines, having a better no of people at a wedding.

If you practically look at the situation, somebody has been waiting to organize his/her wedding for almost 2 years now and cannot push it beyond a certain limit. Just like last year’s lockdown, there are people who organized their wedding in a smaller manner. We have assisted them in managing things, doing the venue décor, catering, etc. This present financial year so far has been a washout, hopefully, if the pandemic curbs and situation comes under control, OND should be much brighter, there is yet a fair chance to recover from this financial hit but yet let’s be practical and honest that it won’t be able to cover up for the losses incurred so far but at least we won’t be out on a duck.

Profile of Mr Vikaas Gutgutia, Founder & MD, Ferns N Petals

Mr Vikaas Gutgutia, is a  maverick entrepreneur and the Unicorn Founder &  Managing Director of Ferns N Petals. Established in 1994  he started his journey with the purpose of providing world-class facilities to Indian society. For Mr. Gutgutia, gifting was an intimate way of expressing one’s love and appreciation to a dear one and he wanted to transform this experience from a beautiful dream to an ingenious reality. Despite what most might think, a university degree doesn’t always equate to success, with just a simple B.Com degree in hand and putting his blood and sweat into the business for years, he established a name that has become a household phenomenon and the largest flower and gifting brand in India.

With his persistent efforts and desire to create an exceptional brand, he brought a new edge to the flower gifting culture in the country, and now this flower has budded into different directions with 400+ stores across India and 11 verticals under one umbrella. Some of these are FNP Retail and Franchising, FNP E-commerce – India | UAE | Singapore, FNP Cakes ‘N’ More, FNP Weddings & Events, FNP Gardens, Floral Touch – UAE, FNP Flagship Store, Sipping Thoughts, Wedding Design Hub, FNP Media, and FNP Water. Due to his many achievements, he was nominated as Entrepreneur of the Year (2020) by Ernst & Young.

Mr. Gutguita has found his success because of his unconventional and out-of-the-box ideology. He had set out with a dream to transform the world of gifting and flowers and has managed to achieve just that. Now, FNP has diversified into various other fields. Mr. Gutguita has time and again proved that no dream is too big for a person who has what it takes. Other than the quest to be the best in the industry, he has a deep interest in penning down poems based on his experiences of life.

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