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A Look Inside: January/February 2006
Labelle Florist |
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Written by Anja Sonnenberg
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Defining Style in a Competitive Market
Labelle Florist
Connie Van Reenen, owner, manager and floral designer of
Labelle Florist in Winnipeg, Manitoba, feels that some days she should
place a sign that says ‘Psychologist’ next to her ‘Open’ sign in the
window of her flower shop. Labelle Florist isn’t just about selling
flowers – it’s about discovering what each customer wants and creating
beautiful arrangements to complement the person’s individual style.
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| Connie Van Reenen (R), owner of Labelle Florist and Stephanie Walker CAFA (L) floral designer. |
“I like to do floral designs that complement the personality of the customers, especially when it comes to wedding flowers,” says Van Reenen. “When a bride comes in, she often brings a friend or her mother, which changes the dynamics of the consultation. I have to be mentally agile to determine what the bride really wants and where the influences are really coming from – it’s a tricky process. I like to have the bride come in on her own or with her fiancé. It keeps things simple and I have a better understanding of what she really wants instead of what everyone else wants.” After meeting with the bride, Van Reenen is able to design the perfect wedding flowers for her perfect day.
“I like to do floral designs that complement the bride and groom. If they have vibrant and dynamic personalities, I’m not going to do the same work as I would for someone who is on the soft and romantic side. That’s what determines the style.”
Located in a building called the Wedding Centre, Labelle Florist is among several companies on the premises that offer their services to engaged couples.
“We have everything from a bridal salon that sells attire for weddings, grads and formal occasions to a business that sells invitations, decorations and wedding cake rentals.”
Brides can also find Labelle Florist at the Wonderful Wedding Show every January, which is held at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. This three-day event is the largest source of information available for local wedding services in Winnipeg.
“Being in business, you can’t just rely of the business that walks in the door. I have to keep my company’s name in the forefront of people’s mind,” says Van Reenen. This past year, Labelle Florist’s wedding business increased by 60 per cent, which Van Reenen contributes to a change in her marketing strategy at the Wedding Show.
“I usually attend the Wedding Show as a unified business, but this year I did it as a separate entity.”
Van Reenen also contributes her success to the experience she’s gained over the past six years of owning the shop.
“One thing that I think has changed is my confidence level. The goal for 2005 was to build a team and that was achieved. Once you have that, you can work on growing the business and everything else seems to come together.”
Labelle Florist’s team consists of Van Reenen and five full- and part-time employees. Of those five, three are very skilled, high-end floral designers. The retail space of the shop is less than 500 sq.ft. and the employees really need to work together for things to run smoothly.
“If you saw what we work with and the design work that gets executed out of this place, you would not believe it,” Van Reenen says. “When it comes to larger pieces, we’ll sometimes get the base work ready and then finish the design on site. It makes more sense and we have to do what works for us.”
The lack of retail space doesn’t seem to affect Labelle Florist’s success. According to Van Reenen, there are other areas in the Wedding Centre where she can display rental items such as archways and candelabra.
“When it comes to retail giftware, my space is limited, but it helps to keep inventory down,” she says. “The more space you have, the more space you have to fill. I think you don’t use as much thought for arranging displays when you’re filling a larger space. The bottom line is that we’re florists and we sell flowers. If we break out and do 50 per cent giftware and 50 per cent floral, than eventually were going to lose the floral business. Flowers are what we do and what we do well. The add-ons are great and I think we have to have some of it, but when I get into giftware, I always see what percentage of my sales is giftware and what percentage of it is flowers. As a business owner, I certainly don’t what to get caught with a large inventory of product in the category where my sales are lower – that’s where we need to be careful. You want the inventory that’s going to sell, but typically people are phoning florists because they want flowers.”
Florists across Canada are facing competition, and in Winnipeg it seems to be especially fierce, as Winnipeg has one of the highest numbers of retail florists per capita in Canada.
“The quality of design work constantly has to be improved and that’s were my emphasis lies. There are a few of us that help each other out. I have three florists who are close by me who are direct competitors but we’re also friends.” Labelle Florist also has its fair share of box stores to contend with. “I see more and more competition from the big box stores, but I do see positive things for the industry,” Van Reenen says. “Independent florists need to be careful and creative – I think the creativity in running your business has to be equal to the creativity of the design work and staying abreast with what’s new in the industry. If we don’t do that, we’re going to be falling along the wayside.”
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