What if the airline industry follow to a standstill and you have clients waiting for their flowers ? During the peak of COVID-19 , this was the case in Australia , causing headaches for many importer . However , Anubhav Sharma , chief operating officer at Blush Petals - a orotund wholesaler in Melbourne - did not throw away in the towel . To execute the order , he even chartered individual planes . Despite the situation putting insistency on the company ’s profitability , his finding to ensure a firm supply to the mart activate the company to grow importantly over the last year . When seem at the coming year , Sharma is pleased about the increased demand , but in term of logistics , he expect the come 3 to 6 calendar month to be challenging .
Anubhav Sharma and his married woman Parul Sharma ( Marketing Manager )
2021 - aroller coasteryearIn December 2020 , Sharma took over the leadership of Blush Petals and when looking at his first year , he describes it as a roller coaster . " Before the vaccine whorl - out , we ’ve had many lockdowns : businesses had n’t even had a chance to get back on their pes from the previous lockdown and they were being faced with a new lockdown . This resulted in weddings and event getting cancel . as luck would have it , flowers keep up pretty unspoiled : during the lockdowns , the requirement for flowers from on-line retailer increased . "
Logistical challengesYet , flowers still needed to be import . The encroachment of COVID-19 on logistics has been severe all over the world and it is no different in Australia . Bringing flowers into the state has been a challenge , explain Sharma " It was really trying . Freight price were high and on top of that , consignment forwarders were handle with a lack of space not only regarding aeroplane but also sea containers . So , even if we were uncoerced to pay an special clam per kilo , we could not guarantee the space . "
Own charter planesBlush Petals has commitments with its customers and has deals with supermarket and other stores , peculiarly during period like Mother ’s Day and Christmas . But , how to get the flowers here ? Sharma asked himself . " As a party , we do n’t desire to let down our customers , so to overcome any sort of issue , we decided to hire our own planes for the Mother ’s Day and Christmas shipments . In this way , we could satisfy all our orders . "
pressure sensation on profitabilityAll in all , even though the constantly increasing freight costs and their decision to rent their own woodworking plane put pressure on the company ’s profitability , it enable them to grow as well . " We did not require to fleet every toll increase on to our customers , so we had to absorb most of that ourselves . But we still delivered on the intensity and this achievement win combine among our survive and young client and enable us to grow significantly in 2021 . "
Blush Petal source and import a full potpourri of fresh and dried flowers , include orchidaceous plant chrysanthemums and roses , and has several contract agriculturist who strictly produce for them . They sell the bloom to jobber and florists across the country .
Enough flower for Valentine ’s Day?According to Sharma , the logistic challenges are not over yet , especially because of another big vacation around the corner . " In the first week of February , we will get shipping for Valentine ’s Clarence Day . Yet , the trouble now is that we do not acknowledge how many peak we will get in . Flights from Ecuador , Colombia , and Kenya are very special as there is almost no space usable commercially . And for the space that ’s available , we need to pay Leontyne Price that are three times gamey . I ’ve never seen a situation like this before . Now , we are looking into alternative options , like unlike routes , alternative sources , or the option of doing charter flight again to ensure that the flowers will arrive . "
Sharma expects logistic challenge to stay on for several months . " For the coming 3 to 6 month , I expect logistics to remain an issue , peculiarly if borders and hub like Singapore and Malaysia are n’t fully assailable . Hopefully , when the COVID situation calms a bit in Europe and ocean shipment ease as well , logistics will become less of a concern . "
positivist bank note - increase demand for flowersBesides logistical progeny , there are some promising development . " As we see worldwide , the demand for flowers seems to have increased . In Australia , the consumer ’s behavior has definitely change . Most of the expert say that COVID will stay with us for the come 10 years . Then , we would be seeing waves amount and go , which means that more people will work remotely or sour from home more often . As a result , they may go to bigger house and make their surrounding more pleasant , including more domestic ornament consumption . efflorescence will become part of their everyday purchases and I think it will increase or keep the need up . I do think this overall will be high compare to pre - pandemic time . "
High number of ordersAt Blush Petals , they already find an increase in ordering , but according to Sharma , this may not indicate the consumer purchasing trend . " Our orders increased , but we can not say if this is due to the increment in requirement for flowers from the consumer or from the fact that we have gained more food market share because we have always fulfil our fiat . Next twelvemonth we will have more brainstorm into the behavior of the ending consumer . "
Strong yearAll in all , 2021 has been a hard year for Blush Petals , says Sharma . " It has been very trying , but we do to fulfil our gild and plight our workforce . "
For more informationBlush Petalswww.blush - petals.com.auFacebook:@blushpetalsauLinkedIn:@anub - sharmaInstagram:@Blushpetalsau
© FloralDaily.com/Elita Vellekoop
