Mother’s Day is generally considered a much more manageable occasion than Valentine’s Day and for most wholesalers and florists it is the single most important event in the calendar.
“From the wholesaler’s point of view it is generally easier because there is a wider spread of flowers and colours, and also, from the florist’s point of view, there is a wider spread of customers,” says Covent Garden Market Authority publicity manager, Helen Evans. “Even mothers buy for their own mothers so you have everything from children with their pocket money to men buying for their wives and their mothers.”
The New Covent Garden flower market opened on Sunday 13 for the first time this year, And while some traders have reported mildly disappointing turnovers, others were able to accommodate their clients more efficiently and some have even requested a repeat of the Sunday trading for Mothers Day.
However, Evans has observed a general change in the pattern of floral purchasing. “Easter is no longer such a big deal with people taking advantage of cheap holidays. And weekend trading is very much down compared with five years ago. The money is still there but it seems to be spread throughout the week.”
For Yehuda Reichmann, flower marketing manager at Israeli importer Agrexco UK, any rejoicing over Valentine’s Day profits will have to wait. “The timing this year between Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day is amazing,” he says. ”Not even three weeks - certainly no time to sit back and congratulate ourselves on, if I may say so, an extremely successful February 14, we just have to get our heads down and concentrate on the days leading up to March 6.”
The tight turnaround seems to be a significant concern across the industry. “With only three weeks between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, it will be hard to make the change-over - changing window displays and promotional material, so florists will be working hard,” says Mark Ward, Wigan-based florist and president of the British Florist Association (BFA). “It puts a lot of pressure on staff, when you think that it’s actually only a week and six days before February 28, which is the start of the week leading up to Mother’s Day, when orders start coming in.” With this in mind, wholesaler Tom Brown says he is advising his customers to take flowers in earlier during the week to allow them to open a little more before the weekend.
As an independent floral advisory consultant, as well as a London-based florist, Michael Pooley is aware of the importance of marketing the product. However, he says florists have been expecting to have a busy time this year and should not have a major problem preparing for it. “The main issue is that we only have two weekends for marketing. With only 20 days between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, trying to get people to part with more money when they have just spent in the region of £50-80 is a bit of a cheek.” By contrast, a spokesperson for flower relay company, Flowergram, says a profit evaluation of both days will likely find in favour of Mother’s Day since she is expecting people to prioritise their mothers over their wives or partners. In addition, the increased publicity surrounding the season could well have a positive effect on the second occasion, says Evans.
The intensity of the period is particularly felt by suppliers who have to produce vast amounts of flowers in quick succession, which can naturally have an impact on prices.
According to managing director of major importer Sunflora and chairman of the Flower Trade Import Association (FITA), Keith Russell, the market will be tight and certain exporting countries will particularly feel the strain. “The supplies from Colombia were all cleared out after Valentine’s Day so this week they will have to be working hard to get volumes in for Mother’s Day,” he says. “The supply will not be particularly heavy. And this year with International Women’s Day, there will be great competition for carnations and roses, especially in Russia, who buy a lot of their flowers out of Israel, which could be affected by the cold weather spreading across from southern Europe to the eastern Mediterranean countries.”
Kate Kenyon, communications manager at the Flowers and Plants Association (F&PA), agrees that having International Women’s Day on March 8 puts pressure on suppliers. But, since roses are the preferred flower of women in Russia, who buy them for every female relation, she suggests the international event is more likely to have impacted availability and prices of roses for Valentine’s Day.
Meanwhile, according to Brown, having Japan’s Girl’s Festival, Hina Matsuri, on March 3, will affect competition for spray carnations and chrysanthemums. “With two big growers in Holland having gone under last year we are having to ask more than usual for 80g spray carnations. The heaviest are priced at £2.80, which is unheard of,” he says
Out of the three-week period in which Mother’s Day can fall, Brown says he would ideally pick mid-March because if it comes at the end of the month prices will be very low, whereas an early arrival will incur high prices. “I don’t mind prices being high though, if it means the flowers are selling well,” he adds.
While Valentine’s Day is strongly associated with one flower, Mother’s Day attracts a much broader spectrum of floral purchases. As such, there is something for everyone at a price to suit, says Reichmann. “There is a wide rainbow of colours to suit everyone’s taste, although we are seeing a trend towards pink, white and blue particularly with the double white and blue lisianthus we have available. Aside from a range of colours, we are also ensuring that the varietal choice on offer will mean that it will not be cost prohibitive for anyone to buy flowers - it could be a small bunch of anemones or an extravagant bouquet of the more exotic blooms - both of which we are sure would be well received, for as we all know, it is the thought that counts.”
Ward says the majority of mothers of a certain age still prefer traditional flowers like roses and carnations, although lilies have been gaining popularity over the last couple of years. In addition, flowers associated with a British spring, such as daffodils, tulips and freesias are often widely visible in Mother’s Day displays.
Daffodils may well be in short supply this year, however, owing to an unusually mild winter which induced an early onset of the spring flower. “The daffodils flushed too early in Scilly, bringing the season even further forward,” says Spalding-based indoor spring bulb grower, Peter Redden. “The very mild season has meant they haven’t cropped as much as they’d like because they can’t physically pick out the buds from the burst ones and so they’ve lost a lot of the crop.”
Redden says the increasingly earlier start to the season is equally damaging for indoor daffodil forcers like him, because prices can lower by up to 20 per cent if there is a surplus in supplies before the traditional season begins. According to Kenyon, some southern growers were cutting daffodils and narcissi, another spring flower, as early as October and November, which is unfortunately when Christmas colours, rather than pastels are in demand. Evans, however, suggests an increasing availability of a spread of English spring flowers could actually compensate for any shortage in imports. And an early start to the southern daffodil season should not cause too great a concern since cutting progresses northwards through the UK as the weeks go by, she adds.
With a heavily pink theme governing its Mother’s Day arrangements, floral relay company Interflora is unlikely to be affected by any shortage of daffodils, according to a spokesman. And with two hand-tied bouquets named after ice-cream desserts, the company is hoping to arouse all the senses. ‘Knickerbocker Glory’ is a bouquet comprising contemporary pink and yellow blooms, such as lilies, germini and gysophelia, while the ‘Raspberry Ripple Hand-Tied’ includes large headed roses, carnations and scented freesias.
In addition, Interflora is promoting several baskets and planters for those wanting a longer-lasting gift: ‘The Cool Candy Basket’ combines pink carnations with cerise germini, wax flowers and an aqua rose, presented in a rolled leaf basket with organza ribbon, while ‘Strawberry Sundae’ mixes pink alstroemeria, roses and carnations with seasonal foliage in a ceramic planter.
Reichmann agrees that greenery is just as important as blooms and Agrexco has a wide variety to offer, including ruscus, ming fern, tree fern, solidago and pittosporom. These can be packed in dry format and in water according to the customer’s wishes, he says.
House plants have been increasingly sought after in recent years, Ward says. “With the explosion of conservatories and that relaxed way of life, planted arrangements and bulbs make a ideal ever-lasting gift.” Evans agrees that florists should be focusing in this direction. “Plants don’t usually get a look in before Mother’s Day, which marks the start of their season,” she says. “They are a very good way of adding value. You can buy bulbs quite cheaply and arrange them nicely in a pot. For florists, they are lot easier to deal with generally. They have a longer shelf life so they are less risky.
“The feeling around is that supermarkets are generally selling at the cheaper end of the market, so there is a definite trend among florists for selling up, creating unusual arrangements in unusual containers,” Evans continues. “There are some really rustic wicker ones, as well as the usual galvanised steel ones. They are much more fashionable and there is a trend away from plants like chrysanths and primulas to more specialist plants like flowering gerbera.”
African violets, begonias and more contemporary-looking plants like bromeliads, which resemble cactus plants without the spikes, are also proving popular as people opt for more tropical mixes. Brown has noticed a shift towards smaller bunches of elegant flowers rather than big bunches of common varieties. However, some people, men in particular, are still harbouring the impression of ‘the more the merrier’, when it comes to their mothers, he claims.
With supermarkets increasing their varietal offerings for the big floral events, Ward suggests smaller retail outlets still have a few points in their favour. “For orders from the supermarkets the cut-off point is usually March 3 or 4 and they often won’t deliver on the Saturday or Sunday,” he says. “We have the edge because we can take orders right up until the Saturday morning, for delivery on the Sunday so we are helping consumers with busy lifestyles.”
For the BFA, Mother’s Day is an important time for persuading customers that bespoke arrangements are superior to boxed deliveries. “We offer a hand-delivered hand-tied bouquet wrapped in paper and cellophane, which you can hug,” Ward says. “With boxed deliveries you can’t hug it in the same way and you don’t get the same impact of colour and scent. You’ve lost the surprise element if you have to undo lots of sellotape before you even see the flowers.” And couriers often deliver flowers alongside other bulkier things like beds, which can damage the flowers and half of the water is likely to be spilled by the time of delivery, he adds.
More importantly, though, florists are able to cater for exactly what individual mothers will like. Ward says: “With a bespoke florist you can say mum prefers lilies or pink, or whatever, but with supermarkets or the internet you are limited to their selection and what they think customers want.” Brown agrees that until the major multiples recognise the specialist care needed for good treatment and presentation of flowers, florists will continue to have a strong advantage, especially on occasions like Mother’s Day.
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