My wife and I worked out of our house doing events 5 years before we opened our retail shop 3.5 years ago. Before we did open our shop I really tried to figure out where this industry was heading. I saw such businesses as Proflowers and 1800flowers pop onto the scene in the late 90s and saw what WS were doing to their own florists with OGs and businesses such as butterfieldblooms.com. I saw what the grocery stores were doing too. I looked at popular magazines that features homes and gardens, with floral arrangements in them and I studied the local florists. I also examined closely the florists who were going out of business here in Southern Oregon. I threw all of the above into an equation and came to the conclusion that the only way for us to make it in a time were florists are dropping off like flies, and still are, it to offer a higher end product with a uniqueness to my region, but with a similar look to what people saw in popular magazine they might pick up at Barnes and Noble or get in the mail. I thought if I set my shop up with this philosophy, I'll be safer and more protected in the future when it came to the big boys online and the local grocery stores. Basically setting up a niche that has an appreciation for flowers. My philosophy is hard to change to, once you have been in business for a long time and your customer expect a certain product. It is not impossible though!!! I see several LARGE shops on this forum that are slowly moving towards being more unique. I don't remember if it was Griff or Steve, but they said, "If you don't evolve, you will be out of business", which is so true. These large shops are evolving, but it's probably not that new of a concept for them, since they are 3-4th gen florists. The large shops have a huge customer base and if they can learn to evolve, they will survive. Us new florists have to use every trick up our sleeve to survive. The new florists in 10 years will even have a harder time to survive. Evolving doesn't just mean product and style, it means marketing and branding too. I've looked at the MAS system, and it REALLY makes marketing and branding a lot easier, if you use it. (anyway, this is really off the subject)
I got the term "Trading Up" from a book I read about 8 months ago.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...102-4839449-9058528?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
You don't need to go buy it, I'll tell you what it says. An American construction worker who makes 30K a year will buy a set of golf clubs for 5K(can't remember the exact numbers) because it is something that is important to him. It’s the same with high end cars, designer sun glasses, and even flowers. (note* I know we are living in a material world, but I am not a material girl, in fact I am very anti-pop culture and anti-flavor of the month, but I am smart enough to know what pays the bills)
There is a niche of people out there that will up your average arrangement by twice as much; you just need to learn what they want. Look at the magazines they read like Horchow (
http://www.horchow.com/ ), while staying at the best western in SF, run into the hotels these rich people stay in, check out the design, not just the flower design, but the over all design. A lot of my clients travel to Europe; it's a treat for them. So my shop reflects what they saw in Italy and with what they heard with Parisian music playing in the background. The experience, just for just for a minute, it takes them back. The style I have set up to target my niche is almost like a Venus fly trap
Everyone has their niches and the above plan would fail miserably if implemented in some parts of the country. The trick to trading up your florist is the target the rich who live around you and find out what they like and then set a beautiful floral trap.
One good thing about selling flowers at a higher price, we don't sell as many arrangements a day. *laughs* You might think that is a bad thing, but 10 arrangements a day at $100 makes more profit than 100 arrangements a day at $10. Why? Less employees and other such overhead and COG.
I don't have all the answers, but it is just my opinion that if we can set ourselves far apart from the grocery stores, for example, we will be less likely to care what the grocery stores does, because they have a different product and style. Heck a lot of my customers buy from the farmer's market, but they know where to come when they want something sent or something special. I could get mad, but my attitude is pretty "simple minded" - the most flowers we can get out there in the public, no mater if it is from Costco or the grower’s market, the better I will do. The trick is, you have to set your shop up to have that kind of naive attitude. As soon as the grocery stores quit using carnations, BB, cellophane, balloons and little teddy bears, then by goodness, you'll see my shop full it.
Again I don't have all the answers, most shops here are established and the above plan might not work for them. I suggest all new florists opening a shop heed my words though. Our shop will be 4 years old this next Feb. We're on track to do about 250k and ready to open a second shop in a near by town. The town we live in now has 6 florists and only 20K people.
I don't know a lot about our industry and learn new things here everyday from the wisdom displayed here by veterans. I do know you need to take the info I put at the top, look at your local market/economy and form your own equation that will set you up for safety in the future, for me, it is "Trading Up" that will set up a niche that I don't have to worry about in the future. On that same note, I am smart enough to know, that if I let my guard down and not stay ahead of the norm, I will fall too.