Floristry Industry

VALENTINE’S Day and Mother’s Day, which used to bring in an increased amount of business to florists are now failing to attract customers, experts warned last night.

Florists have expressed their worry for the state of the industry due to the drop in trade they have been experiencing during the current recession.

The economic downturn has hit flower shops hard as competition from supermarkets and online operators is strong.

Caroline Marshall-Foster, editor of Florist and Wholesale Buyer magazine, warns that smaller retailers simply cannot match their large corporate spend and the convenience in which they offer which has left them fighting to keep their premises and livelihoods.

She said: “What doesn’t help florists is that you get an awful lot of online operators who order gather on an online basis which means local florists lose traffic due to the fact these companies have a much larger corporate spend and users are used to online purchasing.

More than 70% of the public’s current spend on flowers is confined to supermarkets, which may be linked to the fact that the average budget is £10.

As costs rise it seems everybody is feeling the pinch, with even the biggest supermarkets such as Tesco or Asda reducing the square footage devoted to flowers and the range available.”

Local florists, however, cannot match such low prices as they are unable to take advantage of economies of scale.

Due to the fact that flowers are a non-essential purchase people seem to be spending less on them as their disposable incomes decrease.

Jean Baker, owner of Rococo florists on Dalry Road, Edinburgh, says that she has had to in order to stay afloat: “I’ve had to drop my prices just to get by. People just can’t afford to spend what little money they have on flowers and what with the internet, there’s just so much more to choose from”.

The advice to consumers from Florist and Wholesale Buyer is to keep on buying from your local florists but shop around. “Order gatherers such as Interflora have a huge marketing budget which means you pay towards that. You also pay for the convenience of buying online or over the phone. Many local florists simply have what’s called lifestyle businesses whereby they don’t try and make a huge profit – just enough to get by. There’s also haggle room in smaller businesses, and that’s where customers make the savings.”

Valentine’s Day falls on the 14^th of February each year as a celebration of love and lovers. Traditionally red roses are given as gifts as well as other keepsakes. A study by Travelodge this year found that Brits spent over £880million on gifts with flowers being the top choice.

Mother’s Day is a day specifically for mother’s where children buy them gifts and cards. It occurs on the fourth Sunday of Lent which can fall between the 1^st of March and the 4^th of April.

Both of these dates are synonymous with commercialisation and it is often said that they were created by greetings card companies in order to make money.

For more information on the floristry industry go to www.fandwb.com