OTTAWA—Bloomex Canada was prepared for one of its busiest times of the year: Valentine’s Day. For the past decade online flower companies have been growing at a rapid rate surpassing their store-front competitors.
“It’s a definite trend,” said Dimitri Lokhonia, president of Bloomex, Canada’s largest National online floral company. “People are ordering online as opposed to going to local florists because it is convenient, and consumers have the ability to find what they want for a cheaper price.”
Following the millennium, a new generation of business savvy individuals seized the opportunity to have virtually limitless sales opportunities due to the invention of the Internet. Suddenly firms with the right attitude and the adoption of a clever business-model were able to go viral and created a level playing field in a world that had been largely dominated by mom and pop corporations. Since the floral industry was largely overpriced, floral entrepreneurs became determined to use the web to their advantage. Where there was already an enormous demand to acquire low cost beautiful flowers, Bloomex rose to supply.
“Since 2005 we have continued to grow at a rapid rate,” said Lokhonia, “more and more consumers are shifting to online purchases due to the fact that it’s less time consuming and cheaper. In today’s world we are busy, end of story. If there’s a way to do something faster where we can save money, then most of the time we all will.”
Since it began, Bloomex continues to expand year after year.
“The first Valentine’s Day we had in 2006, we had 54 deliveries,” said Lokhonia, “This year we will be doing over 11,000.”
The major difference between online flower companies versus local retailers is that this production model eliminates the “middle man” so to speak. Flowers are shipped directly from growers to production facilities (located in eight major cities throughout Canada), where a team of designers create them in accordance with an order.
“Because we have been able to bring in a new supply chain and distribution channel, we have been able to cut major costs and thus offer a quality product at a much better price,” said Lokhonia.
Evidence suggests that over the next few years the floral market will continue to shift from face-to-face retail sales to online.
“Walk in floral retail will likely be taken over by mass retailers,” said Lokhonia. “Loblaws, Costco, etc. Delivery business will go online. Only local flower shops specializing in specific niches such as wedding, funeral, high end design will survive.”
Source: Bloomex Canada