Nurturing Green: The Growth Dilemma

Abstract

On 23rd March 2020, Annu Grover was preparing for the board meeting. His venture ‘Nurturing Green Retail Pvt. Ltd’ (NGR) had come a long way since it started in 2009. It had started as a B2B company with corporate gifting of plants and had also entered the B2C channels by moving into retailing of potted plants. As a B2C company, it was positioned as a provider and consultant to households for air-freshening plants. It had experimented with a few business models during the last decade and had learned from each. NGR had a presence in 65 stores in north and south of India (including one store owned by the company). NGR was estimated to earn a revenue of INR 30 crores by March-end 2020. For the next financial year, he was working on a plan that would increase the revenue to INR 50 million. However, the news of COVID – 19 pandemic was pouring in from all over the world, and countries were imposing a lockdown. India was also slated to observe a 21-day complete lockdown from March 25th onwards. It was expected that the lockdown could even last for a few months. This would impact the operations of NGR and the entire supply chain. Moreover, Annu was seeking to raise more funds for business expansion. Under such circumstances, it would not only be challenging to raise money but also to earn money from the existing business.