Low expectations
According to a report from the Association of Wholesalers in Horticultural Products (VGB), Dutch exporters do not expect high sales this year. "In the Netherlands, but also in other European countries, many flower shops are open. However, most of them checked their sales of previous Valentine's Days on Sunday's and they seem to be not that enthusiastic", says director Jan de Boer of export company Barendsen in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands. "We are more optimistic, but we also think that this Sunday will be a bit moderate", he says. Also Fleurop in Germany, the largest export market of the Netherlands, expects less sales for Valenine's Day, approximately 20 percent less.
"Weekends are never good for the rose sales. From experience, we know that Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best 'Valentine's Days' for rose sales. People are then at their offices and order or buy flowers more often than on the weekends. Then, they go out for dinner or do something else", said Ecuadorian grower Sebastian Padula of Josarflor, who exports roses to the USA and Europe in an article on Floraldaily, last November.
Also in the USA, people are skeptical about this year's Valentine's Day. In the US floral industry, it is a common believe that a weekend Valentine’s Day results in dampened floral sales. However, Prince & Prince's survey (www.floralmarketresearch.com) suggests the opposite for the us market. — it found a slight increase in consumer floral purchasing when the holiday falls on a weekend.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects US Valentine’s Day to reach a record high, but not for flowers. According to their 2016 Valentine’s Day Spending Survey, the 2016 flower-sales prediction is a 5.1 percent decrease from 2015’s, from $2.1 billion to $2.0 billion. Even though this decrease, this year's prediction is still higher than those of previous years (2010-2014).
Lower prices
Several exporters reported lower prices to the VGB. The majority of the varieties were more expensive than usual, but they did not reach Valentine's Day top levels, reports the in German active exporter Koen Heyl. Prices were not that spectacular, says Marcel Zandvliet of Dutch Flower group. "The price level and volume of the delivered products are almost the same as last year. We think this has to do with Valentine's Day being on a Sunday", he says.
Also the Ecuador exporters, who mainly export to the USA, noticed a decrease in price. "Despite achieving a higher volume of sales than last year, there has been a reduction of prices of roughly 10%, reports Alejandro Martínez, president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Flowers (Expoflores) to El Productor.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects US Valentine’s Day to reach a record high, but not for flowers. According to their 2016 Valentine’s Day Spending Survey, the 2016 flower-sales prediction is a 5.1 percent decrease from 2015’s, from $2.1 billion to $2.0 billion. Even though this decrease, this year's prediction is still higher than those of previous years (2010-2014).
Lower prices
Several exporters reported lower prices to the VGB. The majority of the varieties were more expensive than usual, but they did not reach Valentine's Day top levels, reports the in German active exporter Koen Heyl. Prices were not that spectacular, says Marcel Zandvliet of Dutch Flower group. "The price level and volume of the delivered products are almost the same as last year. We think this has to do with Valentine's Day being on a Sunday", he says.
Also the Ecuador exporters, who mainly export to the USA, noticed a decrease in price. "Despite achieving a higher volume of sales than last year, there has been a reduction of prices of roughly 10%, reports Alejandro Martínez, president of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Flowers (Expoflores) to El Productor.