Own business: sale of indoor plants

Vegetative syndrome

We are already accustomed to an abundance of outlets offering cutting, that is, plants for bouquets. However, this market is so competitive (more precisely, corrupt and criminal) that it is completely pointless to enter it today in the hope of a quick “promotion”. It is much easier to develop new niches in this area, and the most promising one is the sale of not so much exotic houseplants, which have recently become extremely popular with us, as many of the many items, tools and potions that are required for their successful growth.

In preparing this material, we interviewed the owners of almost a dozen flower shops in Moscow. In most cases, they were unanimous: the main source of income in the flower business was “consumables, ” which, in principle, is true in almost all sectors. As you know, even giants such as HP or Xerox receive a significant share of the profit from the sale of not office equipment, but cartridges and other “consumables”.

Selling a green friend

Florists - people are a little crazy. They themselves say that they behave in a flower shop, "like goats in the garden." In fact, everyone has different needs, and if one, having found the desired plant instance, stops at least for a while, the other will buy a dozen during this time. However, regardless of the size of the collection, all lovers of indoor plants need not only “tips and roots”, but also containers for their placement, multidimensional, made of all kinds of materials, suitable for various interiors, as well as fertilizers, soils, trellises for climbing plants, expanded clay for drainage.

Although the question of whether it is worth including indoor flowers in the assortment of a store selling accessories is not on the agenda at all. “For many of these establishments, indoor flowers were a kind of bridge between the cut trade and the current distribution, ” says Tatyana Ivanenko, manager of the capital’s World of Flowers store. - At first we traded only bouquets, then the simplest types of houseplants were added: violets of Saintpaulia, dracaena, colanchoe, chrysanthemums. Now in our store there are many varieties of pots, types of soil, fertilizers, flower stands, etc. We stopped selling cuts three years ago. But potted plants, despite the fact that they give much less profit, we still save. Very often, buyers come to us, attracted by lush greenery in the hall, blooming orchids, unusual varieties of hibiscus. As a rule, these plants cost a lot, and even if the buyer decides to immediately purchase them, he will certainly pass through the entire hall. He will remember, for example, that his ficus has long been in need of polishing leaves, and will buy an aerosol for 120 rubles. And then he will see suitable pallets for the senpolia - here are another 50-100 rubles. Then he will find a lovely stand for flowers. And finally, not a single buyer leaves without a couple of packages of suitable soil. ” According to Tatyana, the average check in her store is about 400 rubles. With a flow of customers from 60 to 150 people a day, daily revenue reaches 60 thousand rubles.

Talking about the profitability of the flower business in precise numbers is not easy. According to Vadim Sokhnadze, the owner of a flower stall in the Kievsky train station district, everything very much depends on the merchant’s appetite and his ability to calculate the exact balance between purchasing power and the willingness of the population to give a certain amount: “We don’t lift prices for decoratively flowering pot plants, we give back the same gardenias are only 350 rubles, while competitors sell them for 450. In general, we keep them only for bait. But the sensible seller will immediately offer the buyer a beautiful flower pot for a fragrant bush, and a couple of bags of fertilizers, so that the whole purchase will pull 600 rubles. ”

The sale of potted flowers in megacities has recently become an advantage of large shopping centers, which can offer prices that are significantly lower than individual retail outlets. “You see, our violets cost 120 rubles, we add to the wholesale price no more than 40 percent of the cost, ” says Dmitry Sotskov, the owner of three flower pavilions in different parts of the capital. The conversation was at his store near the Smolenskaya station, the customer had just approached the pallets with violets and, indignantly snorting, said that the price for them was “godlessly lifted up”. “Hypermarkets, especially specialized ones, can afford to carry out super-actions to attract customers. On Violet Day, for example, they sell these plants for only 40 rubles, which is much lower than the wholesale price of wholesalers! That is why we are trying to switch to accessories. ”

Purchasing potted plants from the same wholesalers who work with large shopping centers, small retailers could get good discounts by combining their orders. “Unfortunately, with the unification, it is not going well with us, ” Dmitry shrugs. “We tried to offer this kind of cooperation to several companies, but tensions began immediately, because everyone has their own vision of what needs to be purchased.”

No gods burn pots

They prefer to be bought from us by large-sized plants (the so-called large-sized plants), as well as "sale" plants in hypermarkets. But then, when the green trophies are already in the apartment, the issues of their arrangement are solved in the nearest locality.

“Usually, picking up armfuls of flower pots at a low price, buyers don’t think at that moment that they will need to be transplanted in the very near future, ” says Olga Chekar, co-owner of FloraPlus Pavilion. - A little later it was discovered that the flowers grow in soil intended solely for transportation, that the pots made of plastic for large-sized ones are too light and therefore unstable, because ficuses need a haircut, hibiscus need a garter, and indoor jasmines need a weaving support. Going for such trifles in the same OBI is hardly advisable. And then buyers come to us.

Most often purchased soil, flower pots and pots. There are already a lot of producers of soil in Russia, so it can be purchased both directly from them and at wholesale companies. It is advisable, as the store owners suggest, to have several varieties of land: universal, for palm trees, azaleas and rhododendrons, etc. The bulk of the pots and pots are also taken from wholesalers, and large companies, such as the company "7 colors", supply them from - abroad, especially plastic.

“The best are plastic and simple ceramic pots without glaze of brown, terracotta tones, ” Tatyana Ivanenko shares her experience. - They look natural in any interior and are inexpensive. Plastic ones are especially practical - they are good for transportation, since they weigh very little. In this case, they are issued in whole sets. Such pots easily enter into each other, which entices many gardeners to buy them immediately in batches. These same pots are best used on racks that are mounted on struts between the floor and ceiling: ceramics are too heavy for such a design.

However, today there are many domestic manufacturers of ceramics, including pots. Products have one common drawback - they have too thick walls, they are difficult to transport, and often scare buyers with this quality. “However, there are pleasant exceptions, ” says Olga Chekar. “For example, beautiful pots made of ceramics are now being produced in Yaroslavl; in Yekaterinburg, flowerpots from the nearest town of Nevyansk are in great demand.” And there are many such examples. “It’s worth taking a closer look at the local manufacturer and maybe starting“ explanatory ”work with him, ” she jokes. - At one time, we did just that, having conducted a series of negotiations with one of the ceramics manufacturers near Moscow. He had not been involved in the flower business at all before, and we came up with our proposals for the purchase on time. This allowed him to avoid the mass of mistakes that newcomers make in this matter, and we - to achieve a reasonable price / quality ratio and find a permanent, reliable partner. " Apparently, FloraPlus cherishes this cooperation especially, therefore politely refused to give the coordinates of its partner.

Issue price

It turns out that this type of business today has one of the lowest standards for starting. As Dmitry Sotskov, who started his business four years ago, told us, both then and now, an amount of 3–3.5 thousand dollars will be enough to start. Of course, not taking into account the cost of renting a room or a plot for a stall. Most importantly, you should have air conditioning to maintain a certain temperature in the room, he says. It is best to start in the spring, when it is possible to put a couple of beautiful stands with flowers on the sidewalk to attract buyers. In addition, this season there are the most new floriculture enthusiasts. “Apparently, nature itself is pushing us to business, ” Dmitry jokes. - Notice, because I myself got involved in the flower business at this particular time of the year. It seemed to me very seductive and pleasant to spend my life in such a beautiful environment. Of course, the routine turned out to be a little drier, ”he notes. “And anyway, I like this business.”

It is such people - who are in love with flowers - that, according to Dmitry, should be selected for the trade in accessories. “Only a knowledgeable, enthusiastic seller can, on the one hand, give sensible advice, expert advice to the client and make him his friend later, and on the other hand, he will not let him go empty-handed.” In total, in the capital, according to traders themselves, each family has an average of 3-4 indoor plants. And annually buys a couple more, that is, about a million plants a year gain new owners. “This market is growing before our eyes, ” says Olga Chekar. “It's time to enter it, because fellow citizens have just begun to realize the taste of life among flowers.”

As Dmitry Sotskov notes, the earnings of the owners of the flower and accessories business depend on enthusiasm and desire to work: “One of my colleagues has a single point in one of the passages. Despite the high rent, he organized the business in such a way that the monthly profit is about 30 thousand dollars. And his success can well be repeated. ”

“I think that flower growers can live very well in the regions, ” Tatyana Ivanenko admits. - Naturally, everywhere there are nuances. So, for example, it is unlikely that somewhere in Kostroma or Novgorod, packaging with land will be very successful. However, almost every family can afford a beautiful flower pot today, and there are enough local producers.

Finally, there is another undeveloped area - as sellers of indoor plants and accessories for them say, an urgent need for specialists who care for indoor flowers has appeared on the market. This profession is still rare, they say, but more recently, specialists in caring for aquarium fish were the same exotic. Now you can call the pros to clean your home pond or cure an ill tilapia. In the same way, after a year or two, it will be possible to invite a master who will transplant a particularly prickly cactus or save an diseased orange — a niche is free. It's time to get back to the roots!

Piece goods

Quite a hot commodity recently, the owners of large collections have become a variety of racks for pots. For those who decorate the verandas and balconies with plants, you can offer funny solutions: pot stands in the form of a wooden cart, a metal mouse with a wheelbarrow where the pot is placed, etc. Domestic craftsmen have also been skilled at producing such products. They are not yet in circulation, which means that they are original enough to attract the attention of amateurs. They could become circulation, but for buyers there would be no happiness if misfortune did not help. As the owner of the flower business Dmitry Sotskov says, “a real Karelian craftsman makes wooden carts and racks for us. We, it was, tried to shove them in large flower-growing centers at OBI, IKEA stores, but the entry price was such that the sheepskin is not worth the candle. ”

By the way, the winged expression about the sheepskin made Dmitry think about a new direction in business, and then realize it. One of his acquaintances was friends with a man who spoke in the program “Director for himself” with unique miniature felt boots the size of a woman’s palm. “This is a real Russian souvenir, it is bought well not only in summer but also in winter, and it looks very organic on large coniferous trees, ” Dmitry laughs. “Now, for us, this master produces boots right away in batches!”

Boots on cypress trees - a purely Russian invention. However, there are many already implemented ideas for arranging houseplants that came to us from the West. For example, very often florists use dry colored moss - not only green, but also blue, yellow, purple, red. Multi-colored pebbles look good in wide flower pallets. In pots with ornamental deciduous plants, which, by definition, never bloom themselves or bloom quite plainly, fellow citizens gladly plant artificial butterflies, beetles, dragonflies on wires and clothespins. All this splendor can be done with your own hands, and the manufacture of such crafts will cost quite ridiculous money. Any brisk grandmother from a village near Moscow agrees to collect and color the moss for a conditional fee for your company, and seaside aunts will take care of pebble and quartz sand, fortunately, Russia has enough coasts.

Evgenia Lenz

www.business-magazine.ru

* The article is more than 8 years old. May contain outdated data