his has been an unusually bright summer for florists in Delhi. In the two days of political hullabaloo around time the results for the 14th Lok Sabha elections were declared, they raked up business worth over Rs 10 lakh. Ferns �N� Petals, perhaps the only branded retail chain for flowers in the country, sold about 200-odd bouquets when the results came and when the government was sworn in.

But that�s not the only reason why Vikas Gutgutia, managing director of the Rs 20-crore chain, is smiling these days. For one, starting off with a single outlet in 1994 in Delhi�s plush Greater Kailash area, his company now has an "almost national" footprint with 31 stores. Besides the 18 shops in the capital, it is present in Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Nagpur, Jaipur, Meerut and Surat, apart from Noida and Gurgaon. For the other, business is blooming. Domestic trade in cut flowers is growing at 15 to 20 per cent per annum; exports have gone up too. Delhi�s streetside wholesale market in Connaught Place, which is also the biggest in India, conducts business worth Rs 1 crore daily in just three hours (between 6.00 and 9.00 am). ... more