I have been working in the floral industry for over 16 years and there is one disturbing trend
that cannot be denied; supermarkets are killing the local flower shop. Look around your
hometown to see how many locally owned flower shops have survived on the main streets of
your town and I bet you’ll see what I mean.
Flowers on display at the grocery store—you know, the ones right near the checkout line or
intermixed with the produce department—have depreciated the value of fresh cut flowers
with their poor representation of what “fresh” flowers look like. First, flowers require specific
care to ensure their maximum vase-life and in many cases the staff at the grocery store is not
properly trained to do this. The result: flowers don’t stand a chance of blooming to their full
potential.
Second, flowers and fruits share the same hormone, ethylene gas, which causes them to ripen
so when flowers are intermingled with fruits they force each other to mature and consequently
die more quickly. This is further evidence that the grocery store has no idea how to properly
care for fresh flowers. Keep this in mind the next time you wonder why those roses you just
bought yesterday at the supermarket immediately wilted at the neck. It’s not the flower’s fault;
it never had a chance.
Third, the grocery store makes money on the food and other products you buy and they
intentionally take a loss on the per-stem price. Obviously this is a business model that’s
designed to undercut the real cost and hence devalues flowers in the consumer’s eye. I have
seen flowers on sale at the supermarket for less than they cost through my wholesaler!
This is why flowers in a flower shop seem so much more expensive than they do at the
supermarket: First, they order in specific inventory that they/their customers like. This
includes more than the alstroemeria, roses, baby’s breath and artificially died stems that
the grocery store stocks. Second, their experienced staff takes the time to unpack & inspect
stems, clean foliage & remove thorns, properly hydrate each stem, and display them in a cooler
ensuring a longer vase-life than the neglected blooms at the checkout line. Finally, the reason
that flowers cost a little more at a flower shop is because it’s their business! They have to make
money on the flowers or they will close their doors. They specialize in flowers—they don’t
have a deli counter or junk food aisle after all!—so taking a loss on every stem is simply not an
option.
So skip the flowers at the supermarket and visit your local mom-and-pop flower shop. Taking
the time to walk into a flower shop and choose specific blooms is far more thoughtful than
grabbing a cookie-cutter bouquet from the checkout.
When is the last time you bought fresh flowers?
Amen to that! I’ve long said that this was the case. As grocery stores cheapen what customer’s expect to pay for flowers, it’s driven the wire services to offer less expensive options. That means the average florist needs to sell more arrangements to make the same amount of money. Add to that less expensive options aren’t usually as beautiful as what you could get for a few dollars more and customer’s scratch their heads wondering why did I bother ordering flowers at all if this is what they sent.
There is one way to compete, and it is not on price. Offer superior design and service and you will win. Competing on price can only lead to a race to the bottom.
And Amen to that, Miles! When I worked at a big, busy flower shop (years ago…it closed its doors in 2001!) I thought the wire service was “where it’s at”. That was the beginning of the end for the art and quality of floral design. The FTD-123 in the birthday mug with a teddy bear clinging to the handle is something that florists should refuse to partake in! It would be nice if florists could skip the wire service “designs” and let designers create their own fresh arrangements to breath some life into a craft that brings so many people joy–especially the customers who receive them. There is not all that much thought that goes into ordering the #5…it’s not a deli, it’s a flower shop!
Cheap? yes the prices are low as you said sometimes lower than the wholesaler. The varieties are so limited and they buy in bulk, really huge quantities.I think shops closing has to do with the demise of downtown, people shop at the grocery store for everything in one stop. Small independent businesses are hurting. I live in a town where chain stores have a hard time getting in and our downtown is doing well as it can right now. Strip malls are ugly and I think bad for a community it kills the downtown area, how many subways does one town need? The strip malls pop up grocery stores locate there and there goes your local flower shop.
I am looking at an established flower shop for sale right now in an upscale suburb of a major city in Florida. The price appears to be on the low side considering the value of the inventory and the owner’s stated income for the past two years. I know of one other shop in the immediate area that recently closed its doors. What should I be doing to be reasonably sure I’m not considering buying a pig in a poke?
As a 30 year veteran of the floral industry, I’d like to offer a different perspective on what is killing the local florist. It is not supermarket floral departments, although poor displays and old flowers hurt everyone in the floral industry. While you are correct about the negative effects of ethylene gas in supermarkets, ethylene is a major problem for florists as well from many sources. The biggest problem that is killing all retailers in floral is our poor handling procedures from floral farms to the arrival of flowers in markets all over the US. This carelessness erodes more than half flowers’ potential vase life before supermarkets or florists ever get their flowers. Consumers recognize this and either don’t buy flowers at all, or (since they think there is not a lot of difference in quality regardless of where they buy) seek out the cheapest place to buy. Our greatest competitive threat is not from other retailers of flowers, but from other competitive industries that understand that consumers want maximum value for every purchase they make. If they can’t get it from flowers, they will instead buy wine, or candy or a thousand other products that give them their money’s worth. We have to start demanding that flower suppliers follow proper procedures from farms to your door. Then we can clearly differentiate the value of buying from a quality retail florist.
Mr. Johnson,
I can’t agree more with you! I’m from Brazil, and here, the floral products are gaining more and more space into the groceries stores.
In my thesis, an overview of the wholesale sector in Brazil, one of the things I heard it was the problem caused by the commercialization of floral products by the supermarkets. But as I said, I thinks there is space for both distribution channels. Particularly in Brazil, the supermarkets are being responsible for the rising of flower consumption.
Great article.
I think you’re absolutely right that the supermarkets have severely weakened the ability of small local florists to survive based on the business models that were developed through the 80’s and 90’s. Not unlike a lot of other types of businesses in the current economy. Check out your local dollar store and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. Sometimes my jaw drops at what they can sell for $1.25 in those stores and we’re not talking about a change in 3-4 times mark-up, we’re talking, “I bought one of those for $20, 15 years ago.
I think it was only a matter of time, and a big part of the apathy towards flowers by consumers is similar to the way people look at art, music and film. We’re continually inundated with mediocre imagery and design on the internet and the new generations don’t see value in design any more. They just want pretty for cheap; like everything else.
I’ve blogged about it in a few different ways myself if you’d like to check it out.
http://www.dflocal.com/category/the-floral-industry/
Good SEO linkage, Duane. Something I need to practice more.
I ordered flowers today for Valentine day. As a previous small business owner I always shop small businesses first. I went to the local flower shop to have a dozen roses delivered. i asked the price and heard $39.95 (CDN) plus a delivery charge. I said OK and as it was being rung in I saw $89.95 on the register, plus delivery and taxes…. the total was $111.00 plus!
I questioned and realized I had heard the $39.95 incorrectly. I was in shock!
I cancelled the order and made the same arrangement at the local supermarket for $36.00.
I don’t expect the small business to be cheaper, or to match the price. I do expect them top be competitive. I went there and expected to pay more…. but not over three times the price. Sorry, but I won’t be back.
That’s unfortunate, Larry. The local florist can’t afford to sell roses on Valentine’s Day for the price that the big box stores can for the reasons stated above. If you are set on roses for that day, try a half-dozen. Better to have half that last twice as long, than a dozen that doesn’t. Or, if your /her hear is not set on roses, you will find the mixed bouquet, perhaps, with just a couple of roses, a much better value. For all florists out there, I hope you will reconsider and visit your local florist on another day of the year, when prices are not at a premium.
I disagree that supermarkets are killing local florists. I’ve heard this excuse many times over the years but it still doesn’t fly with me. I have worked as a floral designer for twenty five years. Over half of that time in two supermarkets, one a national chain and one a local independent, both FTD (passed the inspections and membership process with flying colors and also passed multiple tests and mystery shops). I went to work at supermarkets because wages and benefits were significantly higher and because I thoroughly enjoy management. You are incorrect that flowers are considered loss leaders and are not there to make a profit. In stores with actual floral departments rather than just a few buckets by the checkstand usually done by produce, Floral managers are responsible for profit, loss, sales, salary management, inventory control and meeting goals just like any other department in the store. Many supermarket floral employees are experienced designers and many have even owned their own flower shops. Thinking that everyone working at a supermarket florist has no clue is a big mistake. What local retail florists can provide that most supermarkets cannot is personalized service, due to labor dollars being restricted in many supermarkets; delivery for some markets; selection of hard goods and gift items many supermarkets are not allowed to carry and yes, for some; design experience and knowledge. What every florist needs to learn is how to properly care for cut flowers and plants and to sell fresh product. I’ve seen just as many dying or dead plants and cut flowers at retail florists as at supermarkets. In many cases more since many supermarket chains have Floral buyers and merchandisers that oversee the individual departments and who have strict quality standards. Though of course, there are exceptions. Retail florists do not have to charge a fortune to make a profit. Charging less on flowers and more for labor would be one strategy to compete as well as carrying unique giftware which is high margin instead of a few dusty dirty vases and stuffed animals. Embrace balloons too as they are very high margin and toss those half dead plants and buy smarter and charge less, you’ll sell more. Stop blaming the supermarkets and embrace the competition, there are plenty of florists making money out there…
I’m not sure how much I buy the idea that supermarkets are doing everything at terribly poor quality and making a loss on the flowers. LeeAnne makes some very good points regarding that.
My issue is that, at the end of the day, there will be some people who’s bottom line is price. I’m in Ireland looking to buy flowers for my girlfriend in the US. Nothing especially fancy – cheap cheerful and regular rather than an expensive, expertly done display. When I’m in the US I can get a perfectly acceptable bouquet from Luckys for $10. When I have to order from outside, prices START at $30 for similar looking bouquets. I’m then going to have to add $8.50+tax, and that’s only so low through a special arrangement with the manager since the delivery is going all of 200 metres. So: four times the price, so the same thing. For me, this is what’s killing florists.
I have to agree with the above sentiments re: price. I called 5 florists and asked how much for a dozen roses, and the cheapest price I got was $60 (in DC, so I understand the prices are higher here), and some quoted me at $90. That’s without the $10-15 delivery fee. At the supermarket, a dozen roses is on sale for $12.99. Even if they last half a long (one week vs two weeks), how can I justify paying 4-6X the price for that. I could just buy her a whole new set of flowers the next week. I want to support a small business as much as I can, but when your prices just aren’t even close to being remotely competitive with what the big box stores can offer, what do you expect us consumers to do. We’re you’re customers, we’re not your charity fund. The story of the local florists as a dying trade is sad, just as all the other stories of dying local businesses, but at the end of the day, you have to find a niche or new strategy to attract customers when your market becomes increasingly competitive. Otherwise you will die out just like Blockbuster, Xerox, local pharmacies, local ice cream parlors, etc.
I work at a grocery store floral department, and we are full service. We deliver, do weddings’ funerals, high style, you name it. Every grocery store floral in our area is managed by a former shop owner, so I suppose we provide just as good a quality as our competitor at a cheaper price. And we do NOT take a loss. We also order about 2/3 of our product from the same wholesalers every other florist does, we just do a 2X markup instead. The antiquated business model of flower shops is what is killing them. I have worked in, or seen the numbers in every perishable industry, bedding plants, floral, dairy, meat, and produce… and NONE of those industries use a 3-4X markup. That is the crux of of your problems. Granted, flowers you might buy at WALMART would be bad quality, but 9 times out of 10, grocery store floral is just as good at a better price, providing said store had a specifically dedicated and staffed floral department. You can compete if you want to, but you’ll just have to accept a smaller profit margin in this day and age.
I like the idea of supporting my local florists too, but the notion that supermarket flowers are several steps down the quality ladder just does not hold water in my area. As has already been said, my local grocery store and even the larger supermarket chains have been very impressive in terms of providing quality flowers at low prices, with specialised staff who totally know what they are doing and who even offer in-store arrangement and personalised service. The reason I still buy regularly from the local florist is variety rather than quality. I rarely ever buy the standard red roses and I like visiting my florist to see what is in season locally and find that they always have a much wider selection of blooms and colours to choose from. Also, if you’re not committed to roses, getting less well-known seasonal blooms at the florist does not have to cost a fortune — I often pay my florist a visit when I’m visiting mom or going to a dinner-party, give her a budget, and have her pick out a few choice blooms of whatever’s in season (hyacinths, lisanthius, stock flowers, etc). The end result is often a smaller bouquet than what I’d get at the grocery store, but with blooms more interesting and unusual than the standard supermarket selection of rose/lilies/gerberas. As long as my florist keeps offering more variety, she will continue to have my regular business. Although for events like Valentine’s Day, where all you’re looking for is a dozen red roses, it’s hard to justify NOT getting a supermarket bouquet, with its overall price and non-compromised quality. Also, I have noticed among my friends the trend in visiting wholesale markets directly. A friend of mine, for instance, got ideas for her wedding flowers from browsing the internet (the current trend for ‘rustic’ certainly made things very manageable), and then did them all herself with flowers bought from the wholesalers’ market (involved her waking up at 4am to get to the market, but with David Austins at a fraction of the retail price, she felt it was totally worth it). So, maybe the internet and better-informed consumers, together with a trend for DIYing, might be another challenge for the retail florist. I do hope retail floristry continues to thrive though — I have a lot of respect for the talent, creativity, skill-set, and knowledge base that I see in my local florists and it would be a real shame if they were forced out of the market.
Well, good article and you make some good points. But I have to say I’ve had good luck with the flowers I’ve purchased from the grocery store. I once had some roses from a flower shop that barely lasted 3 days but roses from a grocery store that lasted longer. And what are you going to do about the “Walmart Effect” that has damaged so many small businesses, including floral shops? It’s just the way our economy works. Give the consumer a choice between lower prices at a grocery store and loyalty to a more pricey independent seller. money wins and loyalty walks. It is unfortunate but what can you really do about it? Things change. It’s not the economy of yesteryear anymore when small business flourished. Most people can’t afford to go the more expensive route.