For former HR executive Karen Hussey owning her own business has been everything she imagined it would be – and everything she didn’t. While she enjoys doing something that she knows will directly benefit her family, the past year has been what she describes as “turbulent,” and says the floral industry was in a state not seen in 30 years.
Flowers After Hours changed hands a year ago, and despite facing a depressed market, navigating a cost of living crisis, natural disasters, and flower supply issues, the small Auckland florist has had its largest year of growth and is poised to expand.
The Parnell shop has been in business for 30 years, and Hussey says it had been a challenge for florists to function profitably with limited blooms and as consumers pulled back in spending.
“We are currently experiencing a real challenge when it comes to the supply of flowers, therefore the demand has increased, and the prices have increased, and it has been exaggerated because we’ve had such terrible weather we purely haven’t had enough sunlight for flowers to grow and growers to produce the crop that they usually would be able to supply,” she says.
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