by R-A Business staff
Flamingo service has been bringing Russia and America closer to each other for more than a decade
It is not unusual today that people have the opportunity of ordering a bouquet of flowers for the anniversary of a business partner or friend through the Internet. There is no problem with that even if your associates and loved-ones reside halfway across the world. Hundreds of thousands of florist shops around the world are connected in a network of international flower delivery. Among the leaders of sending flowers to Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union is the Flamingo gift delivery service, a Russian-American company started in 1997. The business unites more than a thousand florist trade specialists in Russia and across the world.
In September 2007, an independent online consumer research among Russian Internet users discovered that Flamingo is one of the three top flower-delivery companies. In light of tight market competition among online gift companies, this result comes as a fine birthday present for the 10-year-old company.
Gift delivery service Flamingo got launched a decade ago by Eleview International Inc. At the time, whatever services for gift and flower delivery were in existence only worked with a small number of cities, such as Moscow or St. Petersburg. Flamingo started to offer delivery to any address in Russia 24 hours a day from the very beginning. The company became an international delivery business rather quickly. In the years Flamingo has been in business, the company strengthened its ties with international partners and fully perfected its order-processing method. This achievement is due in large measure to the efforts of Dmitriy Shamparov, Flamingo's Director of Operations for Russia
The success of the young company is attributable to its Russian and American directors' undivided vision for having reliable partners, who would stand to benefit from working together with Flamingo. Even to this day, Flamingo tries to make it so that working with the company would become the most important field of business for each of the partners.
Flamingo does not stop at delivering flowers. The nature of the gift is limited only by the bounds of a clients' imagination. In its turn, the company is prepared to do what it takes to process orders of any type. The company works around the world and has access to all kinds of gifts. The catalog of products that can be shipped to Russia and other former U.S.S.R. states is large. It's possible to order gorgeous bouquets of flowers, cosmetics, perfumes, toys, home electronics, and many other things.
Flamingo's director of International Operation, Oleg Nayandin, who has a Ph.D. in atomic physics, vividly remembers his life as a student in Tomsk, Russia - how happy he was to receive parcels and packages from home.
- My parents sent me ham, cookies, jam, and other foodstuffs. They tried to help us students. I think that many people of my generation have similar memories of student life. I am also happy to give my relatives back what I got from them. I now send them packages from this side of the ocean. Certainly, I send them through Flamingo.
Today, Flamingo's client base consists of over fifty thousand people. Seventy percent of these people are Russians living all over the planet.
“Flamingo came to my aid when I was worrying about my sister and mother who live near the city of Moscow. They could not share the joy of the holiday season with us,” said Irina, a small business owner from a small town located on the Kansas-Missouri border. “I sent them packages by mail a couple of times. The first time, the package was lost. The second package did not reach my family until the middle of January. I did not feel myself comfortable. Then I found out about Flamingo's service. I've been using the company's services for three years. It's fast and affordable. Moreover, they'll even send you a picture of your happy loved-ones receiving your presents.”
Irina was not the only one to be caught off-guard in relation to some important occasion. Hundreds of Russian people in America face similar issues during the holidays. Flamingo is their best solution.
“I'm talking to the secretary of my business partner from Moscow. She explained that he is running late because his birthday was on that day,” told us Tom Smith, a businessman from Atlanta. “I know what a birthday is in Russia. It is already midnight here. What can I do? I called Flamingo and, after ten minutes, ordered flowers for Vladimir, as well as a bottle of cognac and a fruit basket. The order was shipped to his office in Moscow by noon local time. My partner was quite surprised. I saw that the company was doing everything with great precision. Since that time, I use Flamingo's services three or four times a year, if not more.”
Flamingo is among the absolute leaders in delivering flowers and gifts to Russia and other former Soviet republics. It is not an accident that a number of international delivery companies in those countries work exclusively through Flamingo.
The bouquets in the company's selection catalogs are arranged in a very stylish and artistic fashion and are capable of satisfying the most delicate tastes. They are appropriate for any celebration life may occasion - a birth of a child, a wedding, an anniversary, St. Valentine's Day, or the New Year.
The company does not limit deliveries solely to flowers and small presents. Flamingo's new services include shipping a wide range of other more sizeable items.
“Some people ask to add a latest-model refrigerator to their orders of flowers for grandma,” Oleg Nayandin said. “Some ask to take care of a confidential matter. Flamingo is able to help in all these situations. Certainly, our partners in Russia help us take care of these orders.”
Flamingo also works together with an ever-expanding network of retail stores that can take orders on the company's behalf. New stores are added to the network almost on daily basis.
Oleg Nayandin concluded our conversation by wishing happy holidays to our readers and making several suggestions: “Don't forget that the approaching holiday season is a time to send gifts to your families or business partners. It is not difficult at all to place an order. Simply go to the web site www.russianservice.com or www.flamingo.ru, or call at 888-689-4473 (U.S.), 7-095-7774331 (Moscow), 7-3432-466-550 (Yekaterinburg).”