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The beginning
Since I come from a business family, entrepreneurship was the only option
open to me. My father, though he is 76 years old, still runs many businesses,
including power transmission. It was like I was in a business school from age
three!
When our competitors were importing rose shrubs at Rs 80 per plant, I got
them from the local nurseries. They wanted me to import the basic bud wood
so that they could make the varieties here in Bengaluru itself. I got them
imported from Germany and Holland and it cost me only Rs 5 a plant.
The building block of our success started with frugality and the Indian way of
stretching the rupee thin. Our capital and revenue costs were kept very low.
I built this business on very strong foundations of keeping costs low and that
has helped us reach where we are today!
We have our own retail chain, the Flower Express, and franchisees in all the
major cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. And they
are all doing very well.
When we started, people preferred buying a stainless steel tiffin case worth Rs
50 rather than buying a bouquet, as a gift. But things have changed and
flowers have become a serious gifting option. However, it is still an urban
upper middle class phenomenon.
Our first overseas destination was Holland, as it was 'the' market at that time.
The first export was not entirely disappointing and it was not exhilarating
either. It was a mixed bag. Initially the profits were low and the first one or
two years went by in establishing our credibility and exploring the right
markets.
During the European summer, when the prices are weak, Australia helps us.
Singapore is an advantage because of the proximity and the lower cost of
freight. For a long time, the Singapore market sustained our business. We
don't supply to Singapore any more because it's too small a market for us
now.
The Middle East has become a very big market. The regional market is so
huge that I don't think anybody is seriously exporting to the European market
from India. We are not competitive to Europe. That was why the second phase
of my journey started with exploring Africa.
Moving to Africa
Freight costs were also lower. They were paying 25 per cent to 30 per cent
lower airfare than what we were paying to Europe. We just couldn't compete
with Africa. We looked all over India but could not get contiguous land.
So, in 2000, I decided to move to Africa. The idea came to me when I bumped
into a former manager of ours who had migrated to Africa. Till then, Africa
was a faraway land where somebody was doing something.
When I went to Africa, I was astounded by the scale, the profitability and the
sustainability of the business. I realised we had a 40 per cent cost advantage
there.
In Africa, we run our own hospitals, schools and football clubs. We employ
only the locals. We take good care of them and they take good care of our
business.
Today, we have a 9 per cent market share in Europe and we are heading for a
15 per cent market share as we are doing a lot of expansion.
Today, we produce 650 million roses a year, which is about 2 million roses a
day. We are looking for a billion rose stem capacity! Every day, we send one
charter flight from Africa to Europe.
Moving to agriculture
Though horticulture is the main driver of our business, in the next 24 months,
agriculture will be twice as big as horticulture.
Advice to entrepreneurs