Valentine's Day on weekday brings more sales: Florists
Published on: Sunday, February 14, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: Valentine's Day during the weekday brings more sales compared to if it were to fall on a weekend.According to florists, this is because most of their customers request delivery to their loved one's office during work days. Florina Florist's owner Vivien Wong, 58, has seen 25 Valentine's Day come and go and she said her customers preferred them to deliver the bouquets during weekdays because according to the customers, their partners really love surprises. ADVERTISEMENT "Interesting enough, many of our clients especially the boyfriends say their girlfriends love when we deliver bouquets to their office. "I think women just love surprises and attention. Even though this year Valentine's Day is on a weekend, we still have people asking us to send flower on weekdays," she said. However, Vivien said she also anticipates a slight increase in floral sales as many of the customers prefer to purchase their bouquet at the last minute. "The flower business is quite delicate and unexpected. We can't predict the outcome but most of the time if its Valentine's Day sales will pick up," she said.ADVERTISEMENT She also said the Internet and social medium are one of the indicators of an increase in sales. Rosaihana Florist's owner, Hajah Ros Haji Muliadi, reiterated that the Internet and social network help in the sales division.
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Ros, who is a veteran in the floral industry, said it is high time for florists to change their traditional mode to a new concept. "Facebook, Instagram and website will do wonders for sales. Nowadays, everything is mobile and people want something that is convenient to them. "By using this medium, it actually helps us to reach out to our customers from all around the world. Plus they can just simply browse our official Facebook and Instagram and purchase the bouquet via online," she said. For Margaret Florist owner Reduan Charles Jr Armstrong, being versatile in the floral industry is the in-thing. "Customers want something different. If it is just the same bouquet, they will get bored of it. So florists need to revamp and be more creative. "We have been in the business since 1983 and most of our customers are loyal so they know our style and because of that we have to create and design new flower arrangement and incorporate it with chocolate, mug and even cupcakes. "We need to infuse something new in our flower arrangement so that our customers will be satisfied with our product. Quality is very important, especially when handling perishable products like flowers," he said. All of the florists interviewed by Daily Express revealed that business was as usual despite the price of flowers skyrocketing, especially during Valentine's Day. The supplies were imported from the Netherlands, China and India. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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The cost for a dozen stalks range from RM180 to RM350 depending on the wrapping and trimmings inserted. Despite the economic downturn and falling ringgit, all of the florists said the tradition would not stop as demand continues to rise.