Florist Business September 2017 by Eljays44

BUSINESS

NOW DELIVERING NAT I O N W I D E THE BENEFITS & PITFALLS OF USING A COURIER

very day we’re opening our eyes to new ideas that were never before thought possible. Take a small, independent florist sitting deep in the Scottish Borders who suddenly sees an opportunity to deliver her designs to millions of would-be customers on the Continent – it’s a dream come true for Emma McDonald of Stems, who is now able to ship her work all over the UK and beyond. More and more florists are embracing the chance to take their business up a notch by offering nationwide delivery, while retaining their reputation as a ‘proper florist’. Working with a courier doesn’t come without any difficulties, however. We found out what happened when three independent florists saw their opportunity and took it. EMMA MCDONALD, STEMS Launched in 2012 in Innerliethen in the Scottish Borders, Emma’s business Stems has already seen two shop moves – and now has its sights set worldwide. She’s scooped awards for design and customer service, and is gaining a reputation for her beautiful Scottish designs. “We only recently went live with the news that we now deliver nationally, so we’re still just getting

the word out, which is proving trickier than you’d imagine. A lot of customers – especially the older generation – instinctively associate sending flowers with Interflora, so they’re disappointed that it’s not Interflora and can’t understand why. “It’s great because it’s a step away from relay systems where a middleman takes a cut. We need to teach people that it is possible and that flowers will arrive fresh. We’ve been getting good feedback and hopefully word of mouth will help. “We’ve got some exciting plans that break the mould and will mean we’re competing with traditional relay systems, involving a mini production line at our little flower shop in Scotland. We hope it will bring more money into the Scottish Borders from the rest of the UK and Europe. “We use APC because it was the best recommended company for fragile freight, and we’ve found it’s the only one that will take alcohol and glass bottles. We’ve not had any problems yet, but we’re still in the early stages.For packaging, we use Widdups boxes and Flower Bags from OASIS Floral Products. They stop the boxes getting damp when knocked, and since our flowers come drypacked from Holland, I think it puts us a step ahead. “In terms of prices, we always ask for 30 or more – mostly so that the bouquet doesn’t look too small in its box. Our delivery charge is around 10, but I’m still testing it at the moment – we don’t add much mark-up other than covering courier and packaging costs, and I’m planning to introduce a slightly higher standard charge that should even out losses from cheaper orders.” KERRY BOOKER, STEMS B TINEKE Kerry Booker, owner of Tineke Floral Designs, has been in the industry for over 20 years. She has been named one of the UK’s best wedding florists, and has garnered acclaim for her work and her Derbyshire flower school.

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Kerry has spent the last year embarking on an exciting new project, Stems by Tineke, which delivers letterbox flowers and luxury hand-tied bouquets nationwide. “The numbers vary, but we send out around 0 nationwide orders a week. We started out using courier companies, but they caused too many problems; we now use Royal Mail. Since the changeover we’ve had no problems or complaints, and have found that Royal Mail is cheaper too. We do have to drop orders off at a depot, whereas a courier would collect, but for us that’s easy as the depot is nearby. “We pay just 5.70 to send a box for next day delivery, though Royal Mail doesn’t actually guarantee it will arrive the next day. We’ve found they do always arrive on time, but that’s something to be wary of. Courier companies guarantee timed deliveries but at a high price, often charging over-the-odds for timed and weekend deliveries. “In terms of packaging, we send our flat-packed flowers in slim boxes without water, but each stem is individually wrapped in net with tissue. We send our hand-tied luxury bouquets in a normal branded gift-bag, kept watered with Arrive Alive from Chrysal.”

FLORIST BUSINESS

24/08/2017 12:27