Florists

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry sell cut flowers, floral arrangements, potted plants, and other gifts from physical retail establishments. No major companies dominate the industry. Floral order-taking services such as 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, FTD, and Teleflora (all in the US), Euroflorist (the Netherlands), and Tokyoflora.com (Japan) provide orders to independent florists but are also competitors.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand for flowers depends on discretionary consumer spending. The profitability of individual shops depends on effective marketing. Companies focus on a local or regional market and compete based on location, price, and customer service. The US industry is highly fragmented: the 50 largest companies account for less than 10% of revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major products are arranged cut flowers and unarranged cut flowers. Arranged cut flowers account for about 70% of industry revenue, followed by unarranged cut flowers for about 10%; home furnishings and accessories, blooming and nonblooming indoor potted plants each accounting for about 5% of industry revenue. Stores may also sell vases, artificial flowers, and other gift items. The top-selling flowers in the US are roses, lilies, and daisies. Global best sellers include sunflowers, wildflowers, and lilacs.