Florist: we can still survive, it is the florist who suffers!

During the epidemic prevention period, flowers could not wait for the epidemic to slow down. Jing Zhiming, the second-generation director of Yongjin Flowers, said that he lost more than 100000 yuan of flowers a month, but he was even more unkind to flower farmers who lost all their money. Photo by Chen Zhiyuan

Photo: Apple News Network

"this year is the year when most flowers are lost. I've never seen it so terrible! "this is what Jing Zhiming, the second-generation director of Yongjin Flowers, said. When I was a child, I followed my parents from a flower farmer to a flower wholesaler. I have never seen such a brutal loss of flowers in more than 30 years. Even wearing a mask, I can feel the regret that the epidemic has dealt a serious blow to the flower market and flower farmers.

All flowers have a shelf life, and if you can't sell them in 3 or 7 days, they will be thrown into the dustbin. The epidemic came quickly and quickly. as soon as the government announced that it had entered the third-level epidemic prevention, the flow of people in the flower market was immediately reduced by more than 80%. "Last year's performance dropped by 50%, and this year it was even worse. It was 80% less in one breath. After approving the flowers in the morning, we sat until work. There were no guests at all, and the turnover went straight to 0. "

Distressed, the flower farmer's painstaking efforts were in vain.

Without guests, the flower market is still required to open for business, and the shelf life of flowers cannot wait for the epidemic to dissipate. in a week, more than 80% of the flowers cannot be sold and can only be thrown away. "with one plus this month, more than 100000 yuan of flowers have been lost. He exclaimed that the sum of money was not small, but Jing Zhiming said that it was the front-end florist who was distressing.

Without guests and wholesalers, they would not be willing to approve the goods. The flowers harvested by florists reached the rock bottom price in the wholesale market in the early hours of the morning, but the wholesalers still dared not sell them, and batches of flowers were pulled down the conveyor belt. The next fate was to dump the fresh "remnants" into the trash can. "thousands or tens of thousands of flowers were thrown away," he said with emotion. "as a descendant of a florist, he can empathize with the suffering of the florist." We can still survive. The most pitiful one is the florist. If no one buys it, he will really lose all his money, and he won't get a dime. Months of hard work has been in vain. "

The so-called "cripple" refers to the flowers that fall to the rock bottom price at the auction house but no one wants to buy and are ready to go into the garbage truck. Once they become "crippled" at the auction house, florists will not only get less than a dime, but will not even be able to return the flowers.

Online reversal of survival

As the successor of the second generation, he studied marketing and quickly looked for a reversal opportunity, hoping to sell flowers as much as he could to minimize the remnants. As a matter of fact, Yongjin Flowers set up its website as early as four years ago, but because the source of customers at the physical stalls was fixed, consumers were not used to placing orders on the Internet, so online orders on the Internet were scattered before the epidemic, about 2 or 3 orders a week. however, fuelled by the epidemic, it has increased to more than 100 orders a week, and its performance has even exceeded the turnover on the site in the past. "it was an unexpected collection, and many people now know that flowers can also be wholesale on the Internet. "now that the Internet business is good, he simply buys it to help sell goods that others dare not approve.

Flowers can't wait for the epidemic.

Internet business is gradually improving, and part of it comes from a "flower bag", a configuration similar to a vegetable box, which provides main flowers, matching flowers, foliage, and so on, which consumers can match at will. But Jing Chi-Ming actually struggled to sell flower bags. "there may be some voices in the florist, but flowers can't wait for the epidemic. Every time you throw flowers, you really bleed. You have to sell more than five handfuls of flowers for cover." "

There was a bit of chaos in the flower industry during the epidemic, and the producing areas began to sell flower bags, and even florists went directly to the origin to buy flowers. In the chaotic market, he is optimistic that it is only a transitional period. "after the epidemic, the market will still return to its original mechanism. after all, weddings and funerals still account for the majority of the flower market, and people will still find a flower shop with technology and help in packing to buy flowers if they need it. "

After the epidemic, buying flowers may be more online.

Recently, the epidemic has slowed down, and Jing Chi-Ming also feels that the performance of physical stalls is gradually coming back, but he says that after the epidemic, consumption habits and selling methods may change, and many florists begin to operate networks and communities, and buying flowers may be more online in the future.

Growing up in a pile of flowers, he had no platonic love for flowers. He said approachably, "Flowers are luxuries, not necessities of life. You can't die without flower arrangement!" But it can be soul food, a bouquet of flowers, or even a small flower can bring different vitality to life. "