Getting Serious Business Through The Pleasant Floral World
In many countries flowers are grown for commercial purposes for domestic markets, although the size of individual markets or its development are difficult to assess given the lack of consumption and production data. Germany is the typical example, with imports making up 70 per cent of total demand. A third group, which includes Colombia and Kenya, is opposite of the second; they have a small home market but a large volume of exports. Colombia is typical of this group -- with exports amounting to 95 per cent of production in recent years. Finally, there is a group with a large home market combined with a large export share.
Delhi may have the maximum ‘flower traffic’ in Asia. The city is the convergence point of dealers in flowers. Traders in most cities have contacts with dealers in Delhi and not with dealers in cities where the flowers actually originate. For instance, flowers from distant Bangalore arrive in Delhi and are then transported to Bhopal. Orchids are imported from Thailand and then exported to Singapore. Despite the growth and sale of flowers having spread over most of the country, India's annual flower production stands at around 1,000 tonnes and the country's floriculture industry has a miniscule 0.01 per cent share in the international market.
A company does not function isolated in the market but instead has to work while acting, affecting and being affected by a number of other factors, such as competition, suppliers, customers, and demand change. This holds true for everyone, from suppliers and distributors to customers and governmental agencies. There are two types of relationships that a company has to maintain, internal and external, and both of these combined help evaluate the value of the company. Both are equally important for the company but it is the external marketing that provides the „face? of the company and thus needs to be as well presented as possible as the customers relate to this. This is what forms the image of the company in the market and what the customers evaluate and relate to. They relate to the product and services provided, but there are other factors that also influence them, such as the word of mouth, past experiences and personal needs.
The most important factor that any service enterprise has to consider is the expectations of the consumers, which will help them, ensure better servicing. This is, however, not an easy task as it requires a lot of time and resource input. This would require companies to be in constant touch with the consumers for their feedback on services provided, and ask for their suggestions for changes that can be brought about. The instance where the company interacts with the consumer is known as the moment of truth. The company has to ensure that accurate information is gathered at such encounters and then communicated back to the management to keep up with the changing expectations of the consumer.
The international trade of cut flowers is a very lucrative and dynamic industry worth hundreds of billions of Euros. The most traded floral product worldwide is the rose. In 2008 international sales of roses accounted for €802 million, a slight increase of 0.9% from 2007. The Netherlands is the main exporter of flowers accounting for over 65% of world exports while Germany is the main importer of flowers at 40% followed by the United States at 12%. The Swedish plant and flower industry was estimated at around €700 million in 2004, (Rydells 2009). Sweden was ranked second after Norway in consumption per capita of flowers at €80 in 2004. Rydells had sales of roughly SEK 180 million or around €16.5 million in 2008. This indicates the role of Rydells is that of a relatively moderate actor in the flower market, making up about 2% of total national sales.
Over the last 15 years, the global flower industry has seen many new trends but the most important of them is the online flower delivery. In the chase where everything is sold online, trade of flower is no exception. In fact, a study has revealed that flowers tops the list of most popular products purchased online; a list that includes products like computer hardware and software, books, consumer electronics, music and videos, toys, and wines. Since flowers are the most easily available and the best way to show affection, they are frequently purchased on the internet. The space around Coffee Home near Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place in Delhi hosts what is arguably the largest flower market in Asia, with 99 per cent cut flowers and one per cent marigold travelling up from Kolkata.. There are two other flower markets in the capital – one at Fatehpuri in Chandni Chowk, which specializes in puja flowers and the other at Mehrauli, where one primarily finds marigold with only 20 per cent of the total flowers being cut flowers. In the past few years, the flower industry has seen a steep rise in the buying of flowers through online florists. Seeing this, many of the flower growers have become online flower delivery shops and have made huge profits out of it. However, this too calls upon the wholesalers and suppliers to handle the whole business efficiently.
In many countries flowers are grown for commercial purposes for domestic markets, although the size of individual markets or its development are difficult to assess given the lack of consumption and production data. Germany is the typical example, with imports making up 70 per cent of total demand. A third group, which includes Colombia and Kenya, is opposite of the second; they have a small home market but a large volume of exports. Colombia is typical of this group -- with exports amounting to 95 per cent of production in recent years. Finally, there is a group with a large home market combined with a large export share.
Delhi may have the maximum ‘flower traffic’ in Asia. The city is the convergence point of dealers in flowers. Traders in most cities have contacts with dealers in Delhi and not with dealers in cities where the flowers actually originate. For instance, flowers from distant Bangalore arrive in Delhi and are then transported to Bhopal. Orchids are imported from Thailand and then exported to Singapore. Despite the growth and sale of flowers having spread over most of the country, India's annual flower production stands at around 1,000 tonnes and the country's floriculture industry has a miniscule 0.01 per cent share in the international market.
A company does not function isolated in the market but instead has to work while acting, affecting and being affected by a number of other factors, such as competition, suppliers, customers, and demand change. This holds true for everyone, from suppliers and distributors to customers and governmental agencies. There are two types of relationships that a company has to maintain, internal and external, and both of these combined help evaluate the value of the company. Both are equally important for the company but it is the external marketing that provides the „face? of the company and thus needs to be as well presented as possible as the customers relate to this. This is what forms the image of the company in the market and what the customers evaluate and relate to. They relate to the product and services provided, but there are other factors that also influence them, such as the word of mouth, past experiences and personal needs.
The most important factor that any service enterprise has to consider is the expectations of the consumers, which will help them, ensure better servicing. This is, however, not an easy task as it requires a lot of time and resource input. This would require companies to be in constant touch with the consumers for their feedback on services provided, and ask for their suggestions for changes that can be brought about. The instance where the company interacts with the consumer is known as the moment of truth. The company has to ensure that accurate information is gathered at such encounters and then communicated back to the management to keep up with the changing expectations of the consumer.
The international trade of cut flowers is a very lucrative and dynamic industry worth hundreds of billions of Euros. The most traded floral product worldwide is the rose. In 2008 international sales of roses accounted for €802 million, a slight increase of 0.9% from 2007. The Netherlands is the main exporter of flowers accounting for over 65% of world exports while Germany is the main importer of flowers at 40% followed by the United States at 12%. The Swedish plant and flower industry was estimated at around €700 million in 2004, (Rydells 2009). Sweden was ranked second after Norway in consumption per capita of flowers at €80 in 2004. Rydells had sales of roughly SEK 180 million or around €16.5 million in 2008. This indicates the role of Rydells is that of a relatively moderate actor in the flower market, making up about 2% of total national sales.
Over the last 15 years, the global flower industry has seen many new trends but the most important of them is the online flower delivery. In the chase where everything is sold online, trade of flower is no exception. In fact, a study has revealed that flowers tops the list of most popular products purchased online; a list that includes products like computer hardware and software, books, consumer electronics, music and videos, toys, and wines. Since flowers are the most easily available and the best way to show affection, they are frequently purchased on the internet. The space around Coffee Home near Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place in Delhi hosts what is arguably the largest flower market in Asia, with 99 per cent cut flowers and one per cent marigold travelling up from Kolkata.. There are two other flower markets in the capital – one at Fatehpuri in Chandni Chowk, which specializes in puja flowers and the other at Mehrauli, where one primarily finds marigold with only 20 per cent of the total flowers being cut flowers. In the past few years, the flower industry has seen a steep rise in the buying of flowers through online florists. Seeing this, many of the flower growers have become online flower delivery shops and have made huge profits out of it. However, this too calls upon the wholesalers and suppliers to handle the whole business efficiently.