Mixing flowers with antiques, artistry with
business savvy, has made Buy The Bunch a hit
It’s not easy starring in a one-man-show. Just ask Sam
Solis, floral designer and owner of Buy The Bunch, located in Canada’s
own Hollywood North: Vancouver, B.C. His award-winning designs have
landed him gigs with the likes of Goldie Hawn, Diana Krall, and Sarah
McLachlan. He’s made floral arrangements for Sir Elton John’s dressing
room and, most recently, for the set of The Pink Panther starring Steve
Martin.
 But the popularity of Solis’s work with local celebs is not what keeps Buy The Bunch profitable in one of Canada’ most competitive floral markets. He is constantly looking for creative ways to supplement his retail business, including in-store design workshops and landing large corporate accounts.
Buy The Bunch is a tiny shop nestled in the heart of Vancouver’s antique district, commonly referred to as “antique row.” With less than 800 square feet of space, the store is packed “from floor to ceiling,” and still manages to provide a full-service florist that combines flowers with antiques.
Solis estimates that 60 per cent of his sales come from floral services and the rest come from his unique collection of antiques, giftware and small furnishings.
When Solis started the business in 1999 after immigrating to Canada from the Philippines, he knew he had to position the shop as something unique if it was going to thrive in that location.
 “In this market, if you’re not unique or different, you’ll be lost.” Solis caters to his discerning clientele by offering one-of-a-kind pieces, including paintings and photographs by local artists. Artists display their creations for a period of one month before the next in line gets their share of the prime retail space.
“When we display them along with the flowers, the feeling is different – they get to relate what they can do with that particular piece in their house – they can accessorize it with other things we offer like vases, a sculpture or an arrangement.”
A typical sale, for example – a couple of antique stained-glass windows or an original painting, a Christmas ornament and a four-inch, five-dollar poinsettia – could run anywhere from 200 to 300 dollars, said Solis.
“So you see if I didn’t have these other things, then I’d just rely on flowers and the sale would be quite different.”
Solis remains modest about his business success; but when it comes to his capabilities as a designer, he admits that’s what got him to where he is today. High-profile clients are drawn to the quality and longevity of Solis’s arrangements and bouquets. He describes his style as natural. It’s honest, he said, and unpretentious.
“Every time I send out an arrangement, I make sure it’s an arrangement that I’m proud to put my label on.”
Buy The Bunch stickers, complete with logo and phone number, are placed on every item that leaves the store: either on the vase or the delivery box. This innocuous and inexpensive form of advertising helps Buy The Bunch recruit new customers, including two of its largest corporate accounts: a property management company that hands out 220 of Solis’s arrangements to its office tenants twice a year; and a local car dealership that surprises every customer who buys a new car with a beautiful bouquet.
To help maintain these business relationships, every so often Solis will send the client a bouquet – for no reason at all. “Sometimes I catch them on a bad day. They’ll say, ‘how did you know?’ Sometimes they even cry. I like that.”
Solis typically makes these “just because” arrangements during times when flowers are particularly inexpensive or when it’s a slow day at the shop. Like all small retailers, Buy The Bunch has seen its share of slow days, said Solis. And while other florists will complain about how slow business is, Solis says he sees it as a challenge.
Solis stresses how important it is for retail florists to find creative ways to make better use of their downtime to generate additional revenue. Between 4 a.m. visits to the flower auction; teaching floral design at the local college; seeking out local artists; attending workshops during after hours; and constantly transforming his displays using both the old and the new, Solis is definitely making good use of his time.
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