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The business of love
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Love don't cost a thing, but couples in love are game for some gift hunting, writes Sangeetha Devi. K
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OFFERING OF LOVE It's time to pick up gifts for your loved ones Photo: K.R. Deepak
A few years ago, you could have heaved a sigh of relief once the festive season drew to a close. After Dussera, Deepavali, Christmas, New Year and Sankranti, there was really no reason to splurge. Life isn't that easy anymore, especially if you are in love. You might be well-heeled or just about managing to make your ends meet, but the commercialisation that's crept into Valentine's Day can tempt you to loosen your purse strings and buy at least a bunch of red roses if not customised diamond jewellery. And gift hunting can be an ordeal, especially when stores try to out do one another and their window dressing shows even regular soft toys in new light.
Flowers just got dearer
Flowers top the list of gifts but don't come cheap, irrespective of whether you buy them from roadside vendors or leading florists. Roses are the timeless favourites, but those who like to keep it special go for exotic orchids. The high demand for long-stemmed red roses pushes up the price of a single flower to Rs.20. Orders are placed for flowers that cost a few hundreds rupees and sometimes, even a few thousands. "After Christmas, roses are in demand in February and growers need at least 50 to 70 days to produce enough roses. But the shorter daylights in winter make this tough. Though Valentine is an occasion to express love to any of your dear ones, 80 per cent of the orders are for couples," says A. Srikant, managing director, Orchids.
Click for gifts
In their bid to stay ahead of competition, online portals too have put their grey cells to use and come up with novel deals. For instance, portals offer three-hour or six-hour surprise gift packages. You get to keep the surprise element alive and shower your loved one with gifts by the hour. The gifts could be anything from flowers, cakes, and fruit baskets to watches. The icing on the cake is a return gift for the sender - a digital picture or a two-minute digital video of the recipient receiving the gifts! "This concept is a huge draw among young professionals. And since Valentine's Day falls on a working day, we have a number of orders that need to be delivered to women working in MNCs that have offices in the Hi-Tec City," informs Prakash Jain, CEO, hyderabadbazaar.com. Adds Venkat Sunil, operations manager, countryoven.com, "Apart from ordering flowers, cakes and soft toys, NRIs like to keep their gifts exclusive and ask for an assortment of items, which may include branded pens and designer saris." Portals usually receive orders for gifts worth $30 - 40, but occasionally this goes up to even $ 800.
When money isn't much of a concern, say it with diamonds. Jewellery stores tell us that pieces designed specially for the occasion, priced between Rs.25, 000 and 30,000, find a number of takers. In rare cases, diamond sets worth a lakh or two are also sold. Gauging the trend, Gunasekhar, general manager, Kirtilal Kalidas and Co, says, "The popularity of Valentine's Day has increased so much that apart from birthdays and weddings, people consider this as an occasion to buy jewellery. There are a lot of last-minute purchases."
As those in love look forward to exchanging gifts, business enterprises are raking in the moolah. In a win-win situation, no one seems to be complaining.
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