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A current floral industry buzzword is "boxed flower program".
This refers to the practice of selling flowers to the consumer
in a box, normally through distribution channels other than the
traditional retail florist. Some boxed flowers come directly
from growers, some come from order fulfillment centers. In all
cases, the flowers are delivered by a freight service such as
Fed ex.
Big players in the boxed flower program game are Proflowers,
Growers Flowers, Flowers by Martha, and, perhaps surprisingly,
FTD.
Traditional florists and the businesses that support them, such
as traditional wholesale florists, are rightfully concerned
about the competition they are receiving from vendors who sell
flowers this way. They are also concerned about the effect these
flowers are having on the consumer flower market's perception of
value.
The fear is that if sub-standard quality flowers and floral
services are being sold, the overall demand for flowers will
fall; that the boxed flower programs are giving flowers in
general a bad name. According to an FTD consumer survey,
florists believe that consumers who receive boxed flowers are
disappointed in the quality, price and service. However,
consumers asked the same questions respond overwhelmingly that
they are more than satisfied with their flower buying and
receiving experience through boxed flower programs.
Perhaps, the florists are responding to good science that shows
that the single most important factor in prolonging the eventual
vase life of flowers is the cold chain. In other words, flowers
kept cold from post-harvest to home will perform best. In boxed
flower programs, flowers leave the farm or order fulfillment
center via a shipping company that does not have refrigeration.
Flowers are generally out of the cold for 24 hours before
reaching the recipient. I would challenge florists to consider
how many hours their flowers are out of the cold chain before
the consumer receives them. Do their flowers sit in buckets in
their design room? Do completed arrangements sit in the garage
waiting to be delivered? Are their delivery vans, and the
delivery vans of their suppliers refrigerated?
It is my assertion that flowers delivered in boxes and flowers
delivered by florists have equal chances of good performance,
provided everything goes well at each stop along the
distribution channel from farm to home. Tremendous effort and
pride is taken in the proper care and handling of flowers in the
floral industry, however the more hands handling the flowers
along the way, the more chance there is for a break in the
chain.
There are those who charge that boxed flower retailers are using
marketing tactics, which mislead consumers to believe they are
ordering flowers from a local florist. Should this be found to
be the case, the traditional retail florist would certainly have
a right to be angry. Laws of this great country generally
support a level playing field. It's this nuance of the argument
that goes unnoticed by many florists. While FTD loudly fights
against those unfair marketing tactics, they are not so quick to
mention their own boxed flower program. On the surface, FTD
appears to be fighting the battle to protect their retail
florist members while it seems to me that they are protecting
their own interest as a competitor to those very same
traditional retail florists who are their customers.
I guess what I'm saying is... Game on! Both traditional retail
florists and boxed flower programs are going concerns in the
flower market. I do not believe they need to exist independently
of one another. There are services provided by each that are not
provided by the other. Each needs to understand the other and
their place in the market, so they can focus their energies
growing their businesses. This article provided by
http://www.send-flowers-online.ws
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