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From the Publisher: August/September 2007 |
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Written by Sue Fredericks
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Can the Masses Lead?
Last month the Canadian Florist team made a pilgrimage
to Ohio to participate in the Super Floral Show. It was a first for us
and the show provided an interesting contrast to most shows we attend.
There were almost as many exhibitors as there were attendees!
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Canadian Florist is pleased (no, thrilled!) to announce the appointment of Amanda Ryder as associate editor. Amanda has recently graduated from Ryerson University with a degree in journalism. Most recently she spent two months interning at CBC.ca, the CBC’s online news department.
Amanda brings strong organizational skills to her new role, as well as an unflappable demeanour that belies her age. Her ability to research a topic, find reliable sources and write a polished article will benefit both the magazine and you, our reader. This issue represents the results of Amanda’s first six weeks on the job, and there is lots more to come. Please join me in wishing Amanda a long and successful tenure at Canadian Florist. |
Super Floral is a buying show for grocery chains, mass marketers, high volume retail florists and garden centre chains. In other words, this show is about buying power. The educational component of the show is limited to facilitate more buying time, and probably due to the fact that the people attending are buyers, they don’t necessarily work in the floral departments.
The most interesting aspect of the education roster and keynote addresses was the overriding theme of fair trade and sustainability. Recognizing that this show represents the opportunity to make a presentation to a small group of people with huge buying influence, the purveyors of “flowers with a conscience” made a strong and persuasive appearance.
At first glance it might seem odd to expect grocers and mass marketers to take a leading role in a new trend that is driven by premium pricing. But it quickly becomes obvious that this is the quickest and most efficient entree into the market. Food retailers are already well versed in organic and fair trade products through coffee and a variety of other products. They know the customer demand is there, and that people will pay more. And as I noted above, they have the buying influence to demand that suppliers subscribe to certification processes and sustainability.
While it may make those of us in the independent retail floral industry uncomfortable, I think we should look to and encourage our larger flower retailers to drive these and other important trends in flower consumption. Any opportunity to ask a grower to create a better product that the customer values, should not be wasted. It’s what you do with it once it’s in your shop that sets you apart.
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