A problem shared

The saying goes that a problem shared is a problem halved. Well, when John and Diana Gudgeon married last year it would be fair to say they proved the old adage does not always apply.

Both own and run florists in different parts of England and both have seen their businesses struggle in recent times as the trading environment in the respective towns has changed irrevocably.

Diana Gudgeon opened her first shop in Sutton Coldfield in 1977 and has been running Florist of Lichfield in the city’s Tamworth Street since 2002. She is an Interflora member, teaches floral design from her in-house workshop and has written two books on the subject.

In short, she is the archetypal specialist. But the last few years have seen the development of significant non-specialist trade in Lichfield and forced Diana to seek alternative methods of sustaining her business.

“It’s been horrendous,” she says. “When I first set up in 1977, you had to register the name of your business and the trade you were going to work in. Now it seems every man and his dog can sell flowers. There are five dedicated florists in Lichfield, plus a pet shop that doubles up as a florist. There are greengrocers and a market on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Clinton Cards, Next and the Post Office sell flowers by post. Then there are the supermarkets of course. Tesco has expanded its floral offer, the local M&S Simply Food store sells flowers and Morrisons and Kwik Save both do flowers now.

“Customers are looking for the one-stop-shop option and footfall on the pavement outside my shop has decreased dramatically. The market remains for occasions like Valentine’s Day, Mothers’ Day, weddings, funerals and birthdays and we are the leaders in Lichfield for bespoke floral design, but there are more choices for the speculative shopper and they are more likely to pick up flowers in a shop where they do the majority of their shopping,” says Diana.

“Three years ago, Interflora had 75 per cent of the floral marketplace; that is now down to 27 per cent and it is simply because there is more choice in a shared marketplace. It has gone from out-and-out market leader to that, which is why it has incorporated and brought in 3i to remarket its brand.”

Diana believes the Interflora brand still retains its strength, but backed the move to bring in 3i, in order to revitalise its flagging fortunes. “Flower sales are growing, but they are being spread around and it is definitely the multiple retailers that are gaining most.”

The key to rebuilding the image of florists, she says, is consumer education. “Tesco, in my opinion, does not sell flowers of the same quality as a specialist florist. I don’t think they can buy flowers at the prices they sell them and they use them as a teaser to get people into store rather than try and make a profit from them.

“We buy our flowers daily from Birmingham market - through an independent buyer - and we have a regular Dutch delivery. We have a large variety from all around the world. If our customers ask for something specific, we can usually get it for them in 24 hours.

“Flowers sold by petrol stations sit outside in buckets with an inch of water, exposed to all the elements. They are not preened or conditioned properly and nobody changes that water or feeds them. Poinsettias for instance should be stored at 70°C, yet you see them on garage forecourts in minus temperatures. If someone has a bad experience, as they are bound to at times when buying from non-specialist outlets, they won’t go down the flower road again. Every stem that comes into my shop is handled as it arrives with us and monitored constantly until it leaves us.”

It may sound bleak, but there is no case for giving up the ghost. In the last 12 months, Florist of Lichfield has extended its search for new business. It delivers within a 20-mile radius of the shop and has produced corporate brochures to entice businesses in the area. “There is still a need for specialist florists and the skills and personal service we can provide,” says Diana. “Lichfield is a rural town and we recognised that to grow we have to extend our boundaries. This has involved visits to more than 100 businesses in the region and our brochures and order forms have been distributed to every business and office in Lichfield prior to Valentine’s Day.”

John Gudgeon comes at the whole issue from an entirely different angle and background. After a career in the manufacturing industry, he bought Scotts, in Darkes Lane, Potters Bar three years ago, at the same time Diana was taking the helm in her latest venture. There is perhaps more to the Scotts story than increasing competition, but the majority of the elements are depressingly familiar.

Darkes Lane is passed over by railway bridge where the fatal Potters Bar rail crash occurred in 2002 and the subsequent closure of a much-trodden route into and out of the town was damaging in itself to the business. Situated in a run of shops, Scotts has watched a number of its near neighbours wilt under the pressure. The disused and increasingly dilapidated shops, says John dryly, have made this part of Darkes Lane “like a bad night in Beirut”.

He admits to having a 4-5 year plan to build the business into a position where he can sell it and move on. But the base he started with has dwindled and he is now facing a different set of challenges. “Since the rail crash, we have lost at least a third of the footfall that would normally have bought flowers inside or outside of our shop. And because the competition has increased in the same time, these customers have found other places to buy their flowers.”

Potters Bar, formerly a relatively sleepy Hertfordshire town, is quickly taking its place as another north London suburb as the metropolis sprawls in all directions. The town is now home to three florists - a fourth pulled down its shutters for the last time recently - but flowers are also available from a gaggle of five supermarkets, several garage forecourts and a number of other retail concerns that have jumped on the floral bandwagon.

“We watch people walking past the window with their Tesco or Sainsbury’s bags and a bunch of flowers,” he says, but he feels that while sales of flowers are rising, the multiple retailers in general are responsible for a dumbing down of the market. “They have very limited availability and ranges, although I have to say M&S has a stylish and contemporary offer at good value. That stands out from the normal cheap and nasty bunches,” he says.

The supermarkets have done their best to corner some sections of the market, but there are others that they are unlikely to conquer.

John says: “There are two options open to us. The first is to diversify and become more of a garden centre concern, and sell pot plants and gardening equipment and tools alongside our wide range of flowers. There is only one garden centre outlet in Potters Bar and that is an area the supermarkets are still not so good at.

“The other is to put a lot of effort into the expansion of the corporate supply side of the business. A lot of it has stopped - firms used to buy flowers for employees’ birthdays and special occasions, but there has been a general tightening of the purse strings. But as Potters Bar becomes more of a London off-shoot and more businesses move here, the corporate business should be ripe for development. What we as specialists can offer that the competition cannot is a unique and individual service and creativity. Unless they decide to employ specialist florists within supermarkets - and I can’t see that happening - we will always have that advantage.”

He agrees with his wife that 3i should give Interflora the scope to regroup and address the market again with confidence, adding: “Interflora still has a very strong image, but this injection of cash will allow money to be spent letting consumers know what the brand stands for. They need to be told that buying flowers from a supermarket is all well and good, but if they want something of the highest quality, something special or out of the ordinary, then the outlet of their choice needs to be a specialist, independent florist.”

Another saying tells us that two heads are better than one. John divides his time between Herts and Staffs and both Gudgeons have used their combined expertise and knowledge to analyse their options in both locations. Perhaps that old adage will be proven to have more legs.