Floward: Opportunist & Consistent & Expanding.
Being opportunist and consistent are the two most essential ingredients for a successful career in the business industry. Doing business in the right sector and at the right time is an integral part of any company’s planning process and implementing the same in reality is even more critical. There are no predefined structures on how to deal with particular situations/dilemmas imperative in the process. All the difference created is based on the reaction and solution with which individuals reply to this dilemma. Building a company is not so difficult a task. With some effort, an individual can establish a workable business model. Working consistently on the model and getting a threshold result is the primary task to develop the model into an established company.
Being Opportunist
The above-discussed thought pattern is an ideal behind the scene in the development of any established company right now. Abdulaziz Al Loughani, a founder of Floward, has the same thinking pattern. According to one of his interviews, he said — “The market was very fragmented back then with no regional leader and nascent online presence. After learning that there’s a clear gap in the industry, we invested in a small flower shop and then built the website and app ‘Floward,’ to sell flowers online.” Loughani is very business-minded, a core investor, and an innovative Kuwait entrepreneur. Loughani spotted a gap in the GCC cut-flower industry, with above 98 percent of the $1.5 billion markets being in offline mode when observing it. This is where the opportunist character of Loughani came into the picture.
Loughani & his team showed the creative side when they decided to go for a pure-play model in which they procured the flowers and sold them to their customers. The model could also be based on the inclusion of established shops, and the company’s role would be just to connect shop owners to the customers and gain the profit from the owner’s pay. The later model is very common and is used by most e-commerce websites. Coming up with something new always helps as it differentiates the person from the rest of the world and the traditional way of involving in the business.
Being Consistent
After the company’s initial establishment, it is important to maintain and increment the company’s level of growth by regularly performing up to the mark. Floward is currently operational in different parts of the world, with orders being delivered using air service around the globe twice every week. These orders appear on the company’s website and the app. Floward works with famous designers to create different arrangements and partners with great regional/international brands to complement its product mix with chocolates, sweets & cakes. On customer’s order, Floward’s staff prepares the product and related items and delivers it on the same-day using its own last-mile delivery team. The startup states that it has an average order turnaround time of 1 to 4 hours, depending on the customer’s location.
Loughnai, in one of his interviews, states the reason for the pure-play model — “It offered better unit economics with a higher lifetime value of customers and healthier margins. We wanted to do it to control the customer experience.” According to him, there are many customers in the marketplace model that have to deal with- sender & the receiver. This model can create chaos as there are many loose ends in the process. He continued that — “It is ubiquitous that customers would not receive what they see online when it comes to flowers, especially when the sender is different from the recipient. The best way to make sure that you’re delivering what your website states and shows, you will prepare and deliver it yourself”. The CEO tells this in the interview conducted by menabytes.com.
Forward is able to deliver a wider product range with better value for the products. Lougani also stated that — “Because they use their own last-mile delivery solutions in most cases, they’re able to offer a really fast turnaround time to customers.” Floward communicates flowers and gifts in 9 cities across Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and UAE and is also planning to launch in 6 more cities in the region.
The Kuwait-born startup has grown its current annual revenue to over USD 30 Million. It has raised close to USD 7 Million to date, including USD 2.75 Million in a recent round. Faith Capital and BNK Capital also took part in this round and previous rounds along with other regional family offices.
Expanding Nature
After having an initial success from the business in a particular domain it is important to expand the business according to the increasing demand of the product or service.
Floward is also now looking forward to expanding its work in Europe. These decisions will significantly improve the performance and will also maximize the working relationship with competitors in that region. Floward is now targeting some busy European markets with strict plans. With a clear vision, advanced technical support & products, a good understanding of the local markets, expansion strategies, and a great active team, Floward is ready to take over the European markets in the given niche.
