User:Rajbaniwal/sandbox

Introduction

Vikaas Gutgutia is the founder of Ferns N Petals which is a leading florist and gift portal with branches all across India. He is a visionary and entrepreneur and the driving force behind Ferns N Petals.

Early life

Born in a modest, middle class family in Vidyasagar – a village inn Bihar, Gutgutia’s father was a government contractor. After school, he moved to Kolkata where he graduated in Commerce. He started his career by assisting an uncle in a small flower business in Kolkata. At this point of time he didn’t want to return to Bihar or stay in the flower business as he thought it would not be lucrative enough. Several years of exploring opportunities in Mumbai and Delhi and a girlfriend brought a sea change in his thinking. In 1994 when he sent flowers to his girlfriend in Delhi on her birthday, the florist did a pathetic job and he was convinced he could handle it better himself. (1)

Career

In 1994 after this life changing incident Ferns N Petals came into being on a nondescript pavement in South Extension in New Delhi. There was a remarkable lack of air conditioned flower shops in Delhi and flowers were sold on the roadside. He had only Rs 5000/- but was lucky to find a partner who invested 2.5 lakhs in the business. The partner later cashed out. (1)

It took Gutgutia nine years -- from 1994 to 2003 – to break even. In that period he imported flowers and personally transported them to franchisees. (1)

Over the years Gutgutia has undertaken to segment the market successfully. At the high end of the spectrum, he joined hands with fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani  with a view to set up luxury floral boutiques under the auspices of FNP Tahiliani. He has also ventured into Luxury weddings with another designer and old friend -JJ Valaya.

Gutgutia’s career is not without its failures his foray into street foods proved to be a disaster, according to him. Riding the wave of success with FNP,he ventured into “Chatak Chaat” – a chain which served north Indian street foods. But the venture tanked and Gutugutia lost lot of money with this business failure. (1)

Today Gutgutia’s focus is squarely on his core proposition, which is gifting. Within this large space he has found room for diversification. Under the umbrella of gifts he has included flowers, and cakes, stuffed animals and potted plants. He has also adopted the several forms of home delivery – express, superfast, midnight and international

After having established shops in tier 2 and teir 3 markets such as Coimbatore, Tirupati, Nellore and Sangli, Gutgutia  is targeting cities like Kottayam, Bhillai, Jalandhar, Amritsar, and Bilaspur. He has taken Ferns N Petals’ wedding vertical international starting with Dubai and has expanded the e-commerce arm which currently delivers across 150 countries worldwide. (1)

From a single store in South Extension to 185+ outlets across the country, Ferns N Petals has blossomed over the years. With seven active verticals apart from the franchise model, he aspires” to add a mile to the trade of floristry, event and weddings.” (2)

Honours and Awards (2)

Franchise Award 2003 Franchise India Group2003 Conferred with the Franchise Award for The Retail Florist Category. Franchise Award 2004 The Franchise India Group

2004 Conferred with the Franchise Award 2004 for the Customer Service Category. Best E-Retailer of the Year The Franchising Group

2008 Felicitated with the Best Retailer of the year Award for three consecutive years 2008-10. The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009

2009 Nominated for the The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009.

2012 Best Gifting e-Retailer of the Year, 2012 Franchise India Group Conferred with the Best Gifting e-Retailer of the Year in 2012. Best E-Store of the Year, 2012 International Institute of Fashion Design (IIFD) Best Online Store of the year for 2012. Most Admired Retailer of the Year ,2012 Images Retail Group Felicitated as The Most Admired Retailer of the Year in The Leisure Category for the year 2012. Best Online Retailer of the Year 2013 Asia Retail Congress

2013 Conferred with the E-retailer of the Year by Asia Retail Congress (ET NOW- Award for Retail Excellence 2013) Indian e-Retail Award 2013 Franchise India Specialty E- Retailer of the Year – by Franchise India ( Indian e-Retail Award 2013) Inspirational Leaders of New India, 2013 Planman Media Ferns and Petals listed in The Indian Power Brands as one of the Inspirational Leaders of New India.

5. References- (1).  “ How a lovestruck student gave Vikaas Gutgutia the idea of Ferns N Petals”  The Economic Times, August 10th , 2012- Ratna Bhushan (2)LinkedIn

6. External links - 1. LinkedIn. 2. Wikipedia 3.  “ How a lovestruck student gave Vikaas Gutgutia the idea of Ferns N Petals”  The Economic Times, August 10th , 2012- Ratna Bhushan 4. www. fnp.com /ferns-n-petals –team.html 5. Vikaas Gutgutia, MD, Ferns N Petals – Your Story yourstory.com/2008/09/vikaas-gutgutia-md-ferns-n-petals/

6.“Q&A: Vikaas Gutgutia, Co-founder & MD, Ferns N Petals” – The Business Standard, August 8th 2011. 7. “Ferns N Petals Aims to go Global”- Forbes India, September 19,2013 8. “Interview :Vikaas Gutgutia – Top CEO’s of India “ www.ceoindia.co.in/vikaas-gutgutia.html

Information below the Profile Image -

Born  27/09/1968 Residence India Nationality Indian Ethnicity North Indian ( Marwari) Alma materBhawanipur Educational Society College. Bachelor of Commerce 1987. National high School ,Kolkata 1984.

Occupation Founder   and Managing Director of Ferns N Petals.

Spouse(s) He is married to Mrs. Meeta  Gutgutia

Children Udyat and Mannat

Parents Mr.Chandra Kumar Gutgutia and Mrs.Beena Gutgutia

Relatives ( Publically known relatives, if any) Not known

Website FNP.com.