Originally Posted by Doug Munro
As for some individuals on this board being defeatists, that may be true. However I prefer to believe that many individuals on this board (myself included) are realists and see that are industry has changed dramatically over the last 2-3 decades. I believe we also see that what may have worked a quarter century ago in this industry will not work today. So what in fact may seem "defeatist" to you is in many cases a call to action and for change within the "mom and pop" sector of our industry so that we will survive the decades to come.
Here's some questions for you.
1. What makes you think that the consumer values a Mom and Pop operation?
I believe what today's consumer values is "value" itself as that particular consumer perceives value. The perception of value is varied amongst consumers but from what I can see "price" seems to be leading the pack amongst consumers as an indicator of value. After that convenience, selection,quality, etc. I don't for a moment believe that the average consumer holds a special place in their hearts for the "mom and pop" business (that sounds like something from a Norman Rockwell painting). A perfect example of this is what happens to a smaller center when a Walmart opens, history shows that the majority of consumers tend to abandon the local business in favor of shopping at Walmart.
2. Why is the flower industry different than say, the mom and pop movie rental industry, the mom and pop butcher shops, or for that matter the Mom and Pop anything.
It's not. In fact the meat industry is a great example of where I believe the traditional retail flower industry is going. At one time local "mom & pop" butchers could be found in virtually any neighborhood, yet today they are few and far between. The ones that have survived have had to change how they do business, generally supplying specialty products (freezer packs, custom cuts and sausages, etc) and working on lower margins. I have believed for some time that this is what the traditional retail florist sector is going through.
3. Could the reason the Mom and Pop flower business is suffering is because in today's world the real overhead of running a business is so high and the fact that flowers have been turned into a commodity by overproduction, that the consumer no longer sees value in flowers and those Mom and Pop's can't live on what little profit is left.
There is no doubt that operating costs have risen dramatically say over the last 20 years, but by the same token the actual cost of product has in many cases dropped over the last 2 decades. Think about it, if someone had told the average florist 20 years ago that a quality rose would be readily available at a cost of under $0.50 per stem on a fairly regular basis would they have believed it? Unfortunately in general that savings has never come close to being translated to the consumer level except thru supermarkets, mass marketers, a a few volume oriented retail flower shops. When I entered the industry 30 some odd years ago roses retailed for $50 - 80 per dozen, today in some shops they still do. The old model of high margins, and low customer count no longer works.
4. Couple the above with the fact that today's consumer has seen a major change in their standard of living, from the top to the bottom, ie falling housing prices, shrinking incomes, shrinking investments, that they see little need for flowers in their life. This goes along with the fact that the American, never valued flowers like the Europeans.
The fact is that most studies show that the average Americans standard of living and level of disposable income has improved substantially since post second world war. The "shrinking " you refer to for the most part has been a very recent event. As for Europeans, yes they value flowers to a higher degree than North Americans. However if you want to "shrinking" disposable income you should really look at Europe. Until the recent downturn in the economy flower sales as a whole in North America were pretty consistent over the last decade, what was not consistent was the breakdown of where flowers were being purchased at the retail level. The fact is that the traditional retail florist is most cases is seeing their sales diminish due to the fact they are getting a much smaller piece of the pie.
On a last note, you asked me the questions, I answered. That's certainly not to say I am right. The bottom line for me is that I strongly believe to survive in today's world a flower shop must build customer count and improve their efficiency in order to keep operating costs down, and they must not ignore the consumers focus on price.
