Approaching Valentine's Day, flower markets, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers are intertwined, giving birth to a flower economy in the name of "romance".
Recently, the surging news (www.thepaper.cn) reporter visited Shanghai's flower wholesale market and retail stores and found that the flower market has picked up, demand has increased, and prices are generally bullish. The price of roses is expected to rise in waves, and some high-quality roses are even in short supply.
Some flower shop owners said that the demand for roses will decrease after Valentine's Day, but because of the overall recovery of consumption, the demand for expressing emotions with bouquets will not be less. After a while, there will be a "Goddess Day", and there will be a large demand for flowers, so the price will last for a while.
Flower prices have generally risen
On February 7, the surging news reporter learned at the Lingshi Road Flower Wholesale Market that most of the flowers here were transported from Kunming, Yunnan to Shanghai, and many merchants did not sell them according to the only sale, but according to the bouquet one by one, with prices ranging from 60-85 yuan.
Lingshi Road Flower Wholesale Market. Photo by surging news reporter Deng Lingwei
According to a merchant owner, many urban flower shops come to her house to pick up goods, but this year's flower prices are expensive, so the flower shop owner will control the number of goods taken when wholesale, "this year's volume is not much compared with last year."
But this year, most of the sought-after roses on the market are out of stock, the lady said, her family red roses 75 yuan a bouquet, the roses placed at the door are sold at 85 yuan a bouquet, "single ones are not sold, unless there is a lot of quantity." ”
A bouquet of red roses for 60 yuan. Photo by surging news reporter Deng Lingwei
Another merchant in the wholesale market said that their flowers are purchased from Yunnan, and there are mostly roses in the store, and pink roses sell the best. Roses are sold for 60 yuan a bouquet, originally not sold by branch, but the roses that have been opened in your hand can be sold as a special, 10 yuan a piece. Merchants said that the price of red roses did not increase before February 7, but it will definitely rise in the next few days.
On February 9, Xiao Lin, the owner of a flower shop in the center of the Bund in Greenland, told reporters that whether the flowers are good or not, it can be seen from the price, "this year, everyone predicts that the flowers from Yunnan are more expensive, and the general price is relatively high."
From a retail point of view, Kobayashi said that on the flower sales app, you can find that the price of flowers is higher than last year. "The price of the Shanghai flower market will also follow the trend of Yunnan, if it is a domestic flower, most of it is purchased from Yunnan, if it is imported, the price itself is quite high, and now it is very high." Kobayashi said.
"A handful of 20 imported red roses, the previous purchase price has reached more than 200, which is also a relatively high grade of variety." Kobayashi introduced that roses are divided into imported and domestic, and the price gap between the two is also very large.
Xiao Lin said that she bought more goods in Hongqiao Antique City, and some of the flower markets in the antique city began to increase their prices before this year, and in previous years, 50 yuan a handful has now risen to 80 or 90 yuan, and more than 100 flowers have now risen to more than 200 yuan.
"Still waiting", Valentine's Day prices may rise
The above-mentioned lady of the Lingshi Road Flower Wholesale Market introduced that customers prefer crushed ice blue roses and red roses, which are the best-selling bouquets on the eve of Valentine's Day, "Everyone is used to seeing red bouquets, so choose the bouquet color will be more, colored roses are more expensive than red roses, the variety is cappuccino roses 180 yuan a bouquet." ”
In the first row on the bottom left is a crushed ice blue rose.
The proprietress said that this is still the price before Valentine's Day, and the price will increase two days before and after Valentine's Day, but it is not sure about Valentine's Day pricing, because the price will fluctuate with the market. Based on the freshness of the flowers, the hostess estimated, "The later the roses arrive, the more expensive they are." ”
Near Valentine's Day, Xiaolin's flower shop also sold a package price of 580 yuan for a bouquet of 20 pink and purple flowers, "Now that the main product posters have been made, the price of these models will not rise anymore." ”
In February this year, the turnover and sales of the Kobayashi family flower shop were better than in February last year. Now the Kobayashi family receives 5 to 10 bouquets a day, "which is more than last year."
The style of Kobayashi's flower shop is designed by florists, and the bouquet will be matched according to the main colors of the season, red and purple, and other colors will be used as alternatives. Some customers send pictures to customize, and will also enter some flowers of different colors, and the price of customized bouquets is calculated according to the price list.
Flowers in Kobayashi's house Photo courtesy of interviewee
Flowers in Kobayashi's house Photo courtesy of interviewee
"Valentine's Day is basically going up, and we're on the sidelines." For Kobayashi's flower shop, flower reservations are close to saturation and will no longer rush into the flower market during the festival to purchase temporarily. Unless it is replenishment, fill in a bouquet with a small amount of flowers and missing flowers. As orders increase, she works on the freshness of the flowers.
Xiaolin's flower shop has tens of thousands of fans on social platforms, and some customers will even take the high-speed train to Shanghai, stay for a day or two, and buy a bouquet of 580 yuan. For her, such fans are precious.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Kobayashi was still preparing a storefront. After the epidemic, she did not expect much from the trend of the flower market. For her, having guests to order flowers, "I am very happy to have business".
Xiao Lin said that during the epidemic, she often received guests saying that it was inconvenient to receive her at home if she was locked down, but it didn't matter, could she help her transfer it to friends, Xiao Lin felt, "The demand for flowers has always been, and it has also become a bridge between friends who cannot meet, but can transmit feelings." ”
"The flower market is not as lively as before"
Since the beginning of this year, the flower business has begun to pick up, and everyone's demand for flowers has increased, but "the flower market has not been lively to the previous level".
Xiaolin said that on Valentine's Day this year, some customers who have already booked flowers temporarily choose to travel for the festival, and many need to reschedule delivery.
Xiaolin learned that after the fifth and sixth days of this year, some customers are not in Shanghai or traveling, and will celebrate Valentine's Day in other ways, "This year we received some customers who ordered flowers very early, ordered and decided to go out, they have a certain degree of freedom this year, for them may be happier to go out and play than to keep a bouquet of flowers at home." ”
For this situation, Xiaolin can also understand, some guests return the flowers or book them before sending them, but Xiaolin has some old customers and fans who are popular.
Kobayashi family bouquet Photo courtesy of interviewee
On the other hand, many flower market merchants in Shanghai went home early for the New Year this year, and some merchants have not returned to Shanghai after the year. Xiaolin said that some merchants selling domestic flowers who usually go to buy goods have not yet returned, but their own stores focus on imported flowers, and the impact is relatively small.
On February 12, Xiaolin told reporters that with the decline of the Valentine's Day holiday economy, the market trend of roses will also decline, and in the flower market, the price of carnations will rise.
"After Valentine's Day, the demand for roses will decrease, but because of the overall recovery of consumption, the need to express emotions with bouquets will not be less. During the spring season, many people will bring bouquets with them to walk around. Xiao Lin said that many peonies that girls like are also on the market. In addition, after a period of time, it will usher in the "Goddess Day", whether it is a business or an individual, there will be a greater demand for flowers, so the price will last for a while.
Now, many customers have begun to ask Kobayashi about offline flower arrangement courses. "Some activities that were not possible offline before are now going back to being restored. Very early on, customers began to consult about the activities of Women's Day, and some companies will take flower arrangement as a link to allow female colleagues to participate and feel the company's love. ”