Long queues in front of the flower shops and at the weekly markets during the weekend was the climax of a turbulent week in the flower trade. This year's Mother's Day definitely had what it takes to break records. A poll done by the Association for German Flower Wholesalers and Importers (BGI) on Mother's Day showed that wholesale sales had already increased significantly the entire previous week. From Thursday, all ordering and shopping options were fully utilized. Online sales, orders by fax and telephone and sales in the Cash & Carry markets went up extremely until Saturday. The wholesalers' online shops continued to grow and even goods that were delivered on Sunday were sold by the evening.
There were no regional peculiarities or differences this year. However, the dealers in Bavaria were particularly pleased. After the difficult Mother's Day business last year due to closed flower shops, there were no hurdles this year.
The importers showed that they still did not have enough goods and cargo space capacity. Supply and demand did not come together here. Business was excellent for high-quality roses from Ecuador and Colombia, but: "We could have sold more and better."
High prices when shopping
Anyone who only shopped on the Friday before Mother's Day had to pay high prices for products that were popular. The price level was higher for the entire week than in the previous year. Royal FloraHolland's auctions reported record sales, €43 million more than in 2019 in the week before Mother's Day. Wholesalers had to dig deep into their pockets, especially for peonies, lisianthus and Levkojen. There was also a high demand for roses, tulips, summer flowers, germini and flowering houseplants. Prices also went up for volume makers such as green and floral “accessories”. In terms of flower colors, pink and pastel tones, such as delicate apricot, were popular, but also brightly colored, summery bouquets.
Risk-taking was rewarded
Last year's good Mother's Day business had encouraged wholesalers to take greater risks when pre-ordering: “We have pre-ordered a lot from the gardeners, despite the uncertainty as to whether our customers are allowed to open - it worked out well,” Bavaria said. A wholesaler that delivers nationwide is happy about the success of his planning: "We planned well in advance and took a great risk".
That this willingness to take risks was justified was shown by the pre-orders from the flower trade. Some wholesalers were able to report sales increases of up to 40 percent compared to 2019. Anyone who was afraid of the market quickly ran out of goods.
"Best Mother's Day ever" for flower retail
“Satisfied and exhausted” was the feedback from customers in the specialist retail sector after many had put in extra shifts to process their orders. Almost everyone is enthusiastic about the queues in front of the shops. All the more gratifying, as all the major grocery chains had previously advertised flower gifts again in a conspicuous and aggressively priced manner.
The fact that many flower shops are now affiliated with their own online shop or with large intermediaries such as Fleurop has paid off this year. As early as Thursday, the order quantities of the previous year were already reached for some customers in the specialist retail trade. Therefore, it was easy to plan and order for Mother's Day. Many short-term orders that were received could no longer be processed on Sunday.
Higher sales per customer in retail
Consumers seem to have adjusted to a Corona standard and longer waiting times in front of the shops are acceptable to many. In addition, this year there is the willingness to spend more money on a flower gift. The customers were in the mood for “good flowers and were willing to pay good prices” and since other activities could not take place, the bouquets for the mothers were bigger this time. This time, bouquets of 30 to 40 euros were more the standard than the exception in many shops. In short: a “fantastic Mother's Day” that created a “good mood” in the flower wholesale and retail trade.
Source: bgi-ev.de