Our interview with Rajesh Kumar, the CEO – GCC & SEA at FNP, helped us understand his career journey and the business ways of FNP. Rajesh is a passionate entrepreneur with over 10 years of experience in the online/offline flower & gifting industry. He is a creative leader who plans to motivate his team and work with them to achieve the company’s end goals. Learn more about Rajesh and his company through our interview below.
Starting The Entrepreneurship Journey
We first asked, “Which career path led you to where you are today?”
He starts, “The decision to opt for a business management degree during my early college days was the foundation that led to where I am today. Further down the line, my interest in expanding on knowledge grew, playing a pivotal role in me leading me to land the position I am in today.
I was also very enthusiastic about working in the e-commerce industry, and this led me to join FNP at the early stage of the business. Back then, we were less than 50 employees working together before we grew to become a large entity that’s home to 2000 employees working across all functions.”
Tackling Challenges
Every business comes across some kind of challenges. What matters here is how they overcome them. We wanted to know the same about FNP. So, we asked Rajesh, “What are the most challenging situations that your company overcomes?”
He says, “Small challenges crop up every single day for those in any business. However, existential threats can come from products, customers, and software. The competition also remains a very big challenge alongside the ever-changing nature of technology. But it is worth noting that with fierce competition comes the need to remain highly adaptive to new trends and technologies in order to stay ahead of the game. The ability to offer innovative ideas with a solid infrastructure to support them is also among the most prominent challenges we continue to face.
Other unexpected challenges may also include data security, customer loyalty, price increases, economic uncertainty, and inventory management.”
What’s the key strength to overcome it?
“To overcome such challenges, we as a business must maintain our ability to adapt to external changes within the overall ecosystem of our line of business while also upholding a solid network of service providers along with a steady base of loyal customers. A loyal customer base further feeds into a company’s reputation, which in itself is another very important attribute to the success of any business.
We are dedicated to innovation, and the team is continually changing and evolving the designs and products to keep up with the market’s developing needs and offer perfect gifts for every occasion throughout the year.” he added.
Uniqueness & Major KPIs
We were also curious about understanding what makes FNP unique from the competitors in this industry. So, we asked him, “What makes your company stand out from all the other businesses in your industry?”
Rajesh replies, “We are proud to be one of the biggest players in online gifting in the UAE, capturing the market of gifts and flowers both locally and regionally. As a company thriving in such a dynamic environment, we have always focused on promoting the idea that gifting is about experiences, memories, and feelings rather than just material. It has always been important for us to offer personalized shopping experiences based on a deep understanding of the customers we target using customer data science.
Building on today’s demand for last-minute deliveries, we also believe that our 60-minute delivery service in Dubai helps us stand out from the competition further. Hence, by offering quick delivery, quality products that consistently exceed expectations, and excellent customer communication services, we continue to earn and maintain the trust of our audience and grow our customer base.”
Our next question was, “What KPIs do you use to measure your business success?”
With that, Rajesh continues, “As a business, our KPIs revolve around the satisfaction of our customers and their repeated visits to our website. Happy customers keep coming back, and that’s why we place their fulfillment at the forefront of everything we do. This is achieved by focusing on how we offer our products and what experience our customers face when they visit FNP.
Having said that, we are still a business, and the approval of all our stakeholders, including the company’s shareholders, is also key and something we continue to maintain through maintaining our revenue growth.”
Ultimate Gifting Solutions
Tell us something about your services. What are you working on now?
“As the UAE’s largest online gifting company, our services, and offerings go far and beyond. We are a one-stop shop service for flowers, chocolates, hampers, and bespoke gifts in thousands of carefully curated and unique options to suit every occasion. We based these offerings on a 27-year-long experience and a deep understanding of what we learned about people and what they appreciate from gifts.
Over the decades, we have perfected our business model and aim to become ‘the Uber
of gifting.’ Our figures for the FY 2022 have been exceptional, and we believe that this solid foundation can be built upon in the coming months and years to cement FNP, one of the world’s leading online gift providers.
Online gift buying remains exceptionally popular in the UAE, Qatar, Singapore, and India, and as a result of exponential success within the region, we now have a presence in Saudi Arabia, our recent expansion, where we have so many exciting projects being launched in the market. The plan for KSA is that it will become the center of growth for the next couple of years, alongside new branches in Kuwait and Bahrain being in the pipeline.
We are also launching an Arabic website and application tailored specifically for customers in the UAE who prefer to shop using the Arabic language. This, in addition to launching a further expansion within the region – we will be introducing new websites for Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman in the next six months.” said Rajesh.
Motivating The Team
We also wanted to know how important teamwork and employees are in Rajesh’s company. So, we asked him, “How do you build trust with your employees and boost productivity without causing burnout?”
“I believe that a CEO of a company should assume the role of a leader as opposed to micromanaging. A leader is there to motivate staff and mentor them as they work to achieve company objectives. It is very important to make sure that employees are being appreciated and that their morale is high enough to enable them to achieve more. Good and transparent communication is also key, and I make sure this is achieved at all levels across the organization.”
Staying Aligned With The Technological Changes
The market trends keep changing with time. As a result, businesses have to adapt to them to stay aligned with the current changes. We wanted to understand how it goes for FNP. So, we asked Rajesh, “How do you stay on top of new technologies and trends in your industry?”
“Staying abreast of the latest technological trends has become a necessity for every thriving business and especially in our line of specialty. Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, the business landscape has changed dramatically, with people’s dependency on digital technologies rising. This has led to the ushering in of a new “digital revolution” era and the rapid adoption of e-commerce, which in turn, meant that fundamental changes in the way businesses are conducted, and consumers behave have taken place.
At FNP, one of the things we capitalize heavily on is the leveraging of customer data platforms which help us effectively present products, improve services, and form a better engagement with our customers. In our line of business, data science plays an important role in positioning the most popular and relevant products on top of the page, creating a more seamless shopping experience for customers.
I am a firm believer that we are in a time where digital technologies are here to stay, and we need to learn how to adapt and evolve our roadmaps along with them. As a business, we keep an eye on emerging technologies and make sure to adopt those that benefit both our customers and our services.” He says.
Advice From The Professional
Lastly, we asked him, “What advice would you give to starting entrepreneurs?”
“A few key pointers need to remain on the radar of every start-up! Before launching your own business, keep in mind that results don’t come overnight. There is a lot of effort and grit involved, and patience is one attribution that is pivotal for one to be able to reap the rewards.
On a more technical level, it is important to identify market gaps to recognize where your idea can help provide a solution to an existing problem or a scarcity. Knowing your audience is also important for formulating a solid business plan and strategy. However, once the business is up and running, there will be ongoing challenges, learning opportunities, and ongoing feedback from which one must be ready to learn. Add a strong network and a healthy balance sheet to the mix, and you are set for a successful venture!” Rajesh concluded.
Connect with Rajesh Kumar on LinkedIn
