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Top Shops: Changing and Rearranging
Bloomers at the Market always delivers for customers |
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Written by Amanda Ryder
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Shoppers who are looking for market-fresh flowers that offer both quality and style know to go check out Bloomers at the Market in London, Ont.
Ian Greasley has been the man behind Bloomers since it opened 27 years ago. Originally in the real estate development business, Greasley felt the need for change and gravitated to the floral industry as a result of his passion for gardening. After spending almost two months visiting great flower shops in Montreal, Toronto and New York, he opened the doors to Bloomers’ first location on London’s busy Richmond Row.
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Ian Greasley, the owner of Bloomers at the Market in London, Ont., stands next to the shop’s cash and carry section, which is also stocked with bright and fresh bouquets for the customer on the go.
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Since then, the shop has certainly undergone some changes. To meet the growing demand for space Greasley opened another location in the city’s Covent Garden Market, a large indoor marketplace filled with shops and vendors selling products that range from fresh produce, baked goods and meats to locally made art, jewelry and crafts. After a few hectic years of trying to simultaneously run two locations, Greasley decided to streamline the business by closing the Richmond Row location and focusing solely on the larger market location.
The shop, which employs six staff members, has a European feel to it as a result of the appearance of the business and the product offered. “We started out having our flowers out in the store rather than having everything tucked away in the cooler and that’s the way we still do it, “ he says. The florist’s signature style is compact, round bouquets, that are often done up in white and green and the displays are typically filled with brightly coloured, hand-tied arrangements or water pouches – small hand-tied designs in aqua pouches. Bloomers also offers cute decorator bags that hold a small vase and a gerbera daisy at a price point of $13.50 for those looking for a small gift on the go. Flowers make up a large part of the business but the product offering is also rounded out by a substantial selection of gift and home décor items. Over the past 10 years, the florist has added to this area, and now Greasley says they have “a real sort of eclectic look of giftware and flowers.”
Quality is a top priority for Greasley and he works to make sure he purchases certain varieties only when they are at their peak performance. “If you asked 100 people ‘what do you think of Bloomers?’ everybody would say their flowers really last a long time,” he says. “We try and find really good flowers when they’re in season.”
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At a Glance
Company name:
Bloomers at the Market
Location: London, Ont.
Owners: Ian Greasley
Years in business: 27
Website:
www.bloomers.ca
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The store sees customers of all ages and income levels thanks to the varied crowd that the market attracts. “We are selling flowers to kids that are going on their first date and want to spend $12 and we’re selling $250 arrangements to people who want to knock somebody’s socks off.” The shop’s location in the Covent Garden Market also works in Bloomers’ favour. “With the market you get a lot of foodies who love to entertain and who are passionate about food. That’s a real bonus for us because often these people are entertaining a lot and they like to have good-looking flowers in their house for parties and so on,” says Greasley.
This also makes gift baskets a natural fit for Bloomers and the florist says it’s rare that a day goes by and they don’t have an order for one. Ninety-five per cent of the items for the gift basket are sourced from the local market. “We go to the cheese shop and buy cheese and crackers, and go to the vegetable people to buy fruits and vegetables. There’s a guy here that does French truffles so when we need truffles, we buy from him. We’re really lucky in that regard. Most people that do gift baskets have to go out and buy the pre-made items because they don’t have the ability just to pop out and buy four bananas if they want to,” says Greasley. As the majority of gift baskets are sold online, this sector also lends itself well to the shop’s other big strength – its website.
For the past 10 years, Bloomers has had an online presence but a year-and-a-half ago, the site became even more convenient. The site was revamped and it’s now fully equipped to take orders and secure payment. The website is also filled with large, colourful images of Bloomers’ original designs thanks to Greasley’s secret weapon – his wife. “I’m lucky – I’m married to a commercial photographer, so my wife is great. We can change images and easily put new pictures on the site,” he says. “I’ll run things over to her studio and get shots done of the flowers so we can get our new product lines up there. We’ve probably got 200 items that we rotate through the website as far as fresh things go.”
The florist has also branched out into the world of Facebook and Twitter because Greasley believes that the Internet plays a huge role when it comes to connecting with both new and current customers. He says that nine out of 10 people who call his shop mention that they’ve been on his website. Bloomers’ other marketing efforts include reaching out to the city’s large student population by advertising in the University of Western Ontario’s newspaper and occasionally placing ads in local magazines. Greasley is also involved with a lot of charity work and will frequently give flowers away to help raise money for good causes.
When asked what has been the key to the shop’s continued success over years, Greasley credits Bloomers’ ever-evolving nature. “Our ability to adapt has been a huge bonus for us. The industry has [gone through] and is continuing to go through big changes.” He notes that when they opened the doors to Bloomers, big-box stores and grocery stores weren’t in the business of selling flowers. Consumers in the ’80s and early ’90s were also more extravagant when it came to spending: “It was not at all uncommon for me to go to someone’s house and do $1,200 to $1,400 worth of work in their house for a Christmas party. That was the world then and that, of course, has changed a lot,” he says. “The last recession was tough. It was very tough because people got scared and people were paralyzed about spending so trying to find a way to put products out that still had that sex appeal we’ve always had in our arrangements, but to try to do it at a price point that was reasonable was very important.”
The florist also says their selection and design style helps set them apart. “We’ve really kept pace with some of the trendier shops around. When people come into our store, they say ‘wow, that’s different!’” Greasley says he gains inspiration and new ideas from visiting other shops and retailers whenever he can. He and his wife often travel to Europe and south of the border and bring home the exciting design concepts or new products they see. Greasley admits trying new things doesn’t work every time – he recalls finding a shop in New York almost 20 years ago and being blown away by these little boxes of grasses that they sold. “I came back doing these little boxes in the wintertime and people looked at me like I had two heads! Martha Stewart did it 10 years later and everybody went ‘wow, that’s really great,’” he says with a laugh. Despite the fact that sometimes implementing new ideas can be a bit of a guessing game, Greasley says the risk is worth the payoff when you find a product or new style that customers love and associate with your shop.
Thanks to the owner’s passion for flowers, willingness to change and foresight to introduce exciting new items to customers, it’s clear that Bloomers at the Market will continue to provide quality flowers and a great floral experience to shoppers for years to come.
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