Cards and flowers lose charm on V-day

Shankarlal Sahu, owner of a flower shop in Raipur is a worried man. He's not been too happy with his flower sales just before Valentine's Day on February 14.

"The response is not even 25 per cent of what it was last year," he says. Sahu, like others in the trade, brought roses from Kolkata, Nagpur and Bangaluru (Bangalore). But now fear of dumping his stock in view of poor sales is driving him crazy.

The situation isn't any different in Lucknow where Deepk Mondal runs an up-market florist shop Orchids: "The mush surrounding Valentine's day has been replaced by the new hangout joints in the city's growing mall culture. I hope that my sales of rose buds go up by at least 35 per cent in comparison to last year," he says.

Clearly, couples are spending more time and money in the malls and eating out rather than on flowers and cards. And the much-publicised hoopla on Valentine's Day, has given way to expensive gifts and eating out culture across major cities.

Gift major Archies' business also reflects the trend. The company that enjoys 65 per cent share of the cards' market, finds that cards account for 33 per cent of its overall turnover while the rest comes from selling gifts.

"The share of cards in our business has seen a gradual decline in the last five years while the contribution of gifts to the turnover has increased," says the Archies' spokesperson.

Archies now sells more high-value cards in the range of Rs 250-Rs 290 compared to cards costing Rs 10 to Rs 40. "It's not just about giving cards to your loved ones. Today's youth, armed with a high disposable income, is buying the most expensive cards and gifts in addition to spending it on eating out," says the Archies' executive.

To tap into the growing eating out culture, last year, Ramesh Mehra, owner of cards and gifts shop in Gurgaon's busy Sadar Bazaar added 'Quick Bites', a snack-food corner, to his shop.

He hopes that couples will throng his snack-food outlet, at least, on February 14. "No one comes to buy only a Valentine's day card or a gift. I added the fast food section to support the cards and gifts shop," Mehra says, adding that a large number of youngsters now go to the new Gurgaon area where most of the malls are located.

According to industry estimates, metros have seen card sales drop from about 80 per cent (as a ratio between cards and gifts) to 50 per cent in the past five years. The smaller cities, however, witnessed growth where sale of cards has gone up from 10 per cent to 50 per cent for the cards and gifts companies.

In the last few years, however, 200 new malls have opened across the country driving the shift in spending patterns for the love-birds, especially on Valentine's Day, say gift industry sources.