Florist News

I ended up stocking anything and everything that was even remotely connected with flowers or floristry. 'Minimalist' was not in my dictionary. Yes the shop looked a mess, stuff everywhere, a lot of it you couldn't lay your hands on without moving a few buckets of flowers. It was a nightmare trying to keep track of everything and keep it looking sort of tidy. Generally though, most of the comments where along the lines of "wow..it's like an alladins cave in here" and they would always find things to buy. I wasn't too bothered about having the prettiest shop in town, i just wanted cash in the till.

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Well apart from fresh flowers..

Plants, artificial flowers and arrangements, Vases/glassware, soft toys, Chocolates, balloons, Cards, some gourmet, few candles/ gifts.

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KK

totally agree with the artificial quality..anything else looks like your selling stuff from a supermarket(don't wanna offend anyone...!!!)

Chris, I'm assuming you sell german "ceramics"what companys?anyone I know?

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~success is a lousy teacher...it seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose~

Jake and PP you are so naughty Being serious, I find fresh plants and silk flowers are the best add-ons money wise and as Chris and Maple said good quality silk especially for wedding work.

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Rainbow

Quote of the day : "It is much more comfortable to be mad and know it, than to be sane and have one's doubts."
- G. B. Burgin

We sell loads of garden plants in the summer, as flower sales drop,We also sell in the summer local strawberries, raspberrys, plums and gooseberries, from the local farms.

Indoor plants in pots or wraped in cello go good as a gifts, ceramic pots, balloons, cards, vases, toys, candles... One flower shop not far from us sale pet food, another make coffee and tea as well as sell flowers....

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www.twiggys-florist.com

We sell lots of 'extra' bits such as candles, lanterns, birdcages, picture frames etc. We only stock a small ammount, so we can stick to being a 'flower shop', but these things do sell very well here.

I dont mean to sound rude, although I am sure this probably will, but......have you not done a business plan, or any kind of plan about what to sell etc? Surely thats a really important thing to establish from the very start?? Sure you can add things as you go along to see what demand is like, but you should know what kind of business yours is going to be from the off?

We sell lots of extra things cards, balloons, plants, pots, wrapping paper, vases, money tins, containers, age glasses, badges, confetti, soft toys ect ect. People come in and tell me what a lovely shop it is, they love to look at all the things, they don't always buy something, but if they need something different they come back

We sell all the usuals, candles, chocs, teddys balloons...... used to sell pot pourri by the scoop ! Never sold much... but the shop smelt loooooovely oh well live and learn !!

Lots of plants, indoor and out, cards and gift wrap, vases. pots, candles, small range of gifts, ie soaps, hearts and pretty bits, at christmas any kind of wreath you can lay your hands on and easter little painted eggs, twigs and things. The bulk of it is flowers with the rest plants. Just a word of advice, my shop is was one year old last week so I'm a newbie too, when I started I thought I would sell more gifts but the flowers and plants took off much better even though the shop was previously a gift shop. Alot of people have difficulty getting their heads round a florist selling gifts. You need to market it well so that the customers know what you have to offer. I have found that that the 'giftstock' takes alot longer to shift (obviously) so you have alot of money tied up in it if it doesnt sell. Also you'll find that most companies have a minimum order which is often quite high. Dont want to put you off because all shops are different but that is my experience. Good luck with it.