MY-based online florist service Flower Chimp secures RM6m investment, eyes SG market

Malaysia-based online florist service Flower Chimp has secured an investment of RM6 million from investors, including private holding company Asia Venture Group.Flower Chimp aims to expand its reach to Singapore by the second half of August 2018, as well as Vietnam, Thailand and Hong Kong by 2019. According to partner and chief operating officer Niklas Frassa, Flower Chimp plans to utilise the funds received to strengthen its footprint in Indonesia and the Philippines. The funding will also be used to improve its technical infrastructure to offer better benefits to consumers with smart features such as live order tracking.In a statement to A+M, Frassa said 20% of the investment will be dedicated to marketing. It plans to invest heavily in traditional e-commerce marketing channels such as search engine marketing/optimisation, affiliate marketing, CRM and social media marketing. Meanwhile, it is also increasing the budget for more recent marketing formats such as video ads. The company is currently working with marketing technology agency Admiral Digital for its online efforts.Frassa cited proximity to the Malaysia market as the main reason for expanding into Singapore. "Not just in terms of geography, but also cultural aspects such as festive seasons and language spoken," he added. This allows for synergies in terms of campaign management and customer service, as the teams in both countries can work more closely together.Currently, Flower Chimp has only invested in channels that would reap immediate returns, causing its marketing efforts in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines have been very "transaction-driven", Frassa said. Nonetheless, this enables the company to minimise marketing spend and keep its prices low."While this will always be our focus, we are also increasing our focus on other non-paid channels such as AI, CRM automation, PR and partnerships, in order to tap into new audiences and serve existing customers better," he added.The company is confident of growing "three times over" with contributions from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. While Frassa did not provide an exact figure as sales numbers are dependent on seasonality, he said Flower Chimp aims to fulfil a four-figure number of orders each day.(Photo courtesy: 123RF)