Flower Delivery

Your loyal scribe is one that appreciates flower delivery with every last bit of his beating heart. Is there anything better than being able to count on a service that can get something that women (and men) love so much to their doorsteps with an efficiency that rivals the most adept supply chain in the world? Honestly, flower companies these days do not fail. They don’t. When you order your blooms, they arrive, plain and simple. But aside from the delivery side, where did all this come from?

Flower arranging dates back a long time … a looong time. In fact, Egypt recorded flower arrangements in 2,500 BC. They were later known as florists by trade and subsequently commissioned to place stylized arrangements around table decorations, processions and burials. Certain flowers had symbolic meaning and the biggest buyers were by far folks mourning the death of loved ones. The Greeks and Romans entered the game with what is today a staple in the flower community – the rose. They dressed tables during meals with a host of roses and put together laurel wreaths for the winners of the ancient Olympics.

China was also no stranger to floral arrangements, positioning the flowers as a component of religious teaching and medicine. In fact, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism all feature floral arrangements, front and center. Europe today might be the leader in floral arrangements, with the Dutch playing a prominent role, exporting tulips worldwide and stunning the greater flower loving public every day. A side note, there is a fantastic floral convention every year, the Flower Convention, which is held in Philadelphia most years. Absolutely jaw dropping and highly recommended.

The delivery of flowers began roughly 110 years ago. It started as a telegraph service and with the advent of the phone, fax, internet, the whole industry evolved from there. Recognize the brand FTD? Of course you do, it stands for Florists Telegraph Delivery Service, and this industry giant began over 80 years ago but evolved considerably in 1994 when it was acquired and subsequently converted to a for-profit company. The next stop was the stock exchange in 2005 and flowers were officially big business.

Flower delivery in 2020 is like online food delivery. Warehouses chalk full of flowers from around the world is where it all starts. Common bouquets (or the bestselling) are put together, and because this is a business where the final product is time sensitive, they are stored in temperature-controlled environments, waiting for their number to be called to be delivered to that lucky guy or gal. Floral companies will then employ a team of drivers (some full time but many part-time or on a contract basis) to get said flowers to their destination. The mark-up costs are considerable, with some arrangements netting more than 80% gross profit for the company.

The competition with the rise of Amazon has been nothing short than brutal. Online florists and even brick and mortar outfits have had to cut their margins considerably to survive. Smaller town florists have not been as affected, principally because of the relationship factor, being able to fall back on client relations to drive and maintain the business as opposed to trying to compete with Amazon and others head up. But many are not that lucky, and the big web retailers are also eating their lunch in the flower world as well.

It’s a dog eat … err, flower-eat-flower world out there. The cost of a compliment is not so cheap after all, is it …