Let's hear it for the supply chain!
As we celebrate 1.2.21 have to say I thought January was dreary beyond belief! In fact at one point I reached for the bottle (of hair dye I hasten to add!) before a friend firmly told me to step away!
But whilst the hair may not be bright (or pink - my other thought process!!) my heart did soar when I read the results of the survey we did last week.
Because despite Brexit rules starting just 31 days ago, 78% of florists said they either ‘hadn’t noticed any difference’, had taken their suppliers advice and ‘started ordering earlier and all was fine’ or had ‘found it settled after the first week’
To me that is amazing and total testament to the efforts made by the supply chain around the world. A network of companies who have not only had to deal with a global pandemic and all the attendant issues; like keeping crops going and thriving, increased freight costs, limited logistics capacity, delayed containers and of course their own safety but also changes to a 47 year old system pretty much overnight!
Indeed it’s incredible how brilliantly everyone from growers to wholesalers have coped; in fact apart from a few weeks back in March, and the current – but being resolved – situation on plants into the UK –between them they’ve pretty much kept supply flowing despite everything.
I’ll do a full survey analysis later on this week but before then I just want to say this.
Our website may be called The Florist but our full title is Florist Trade Magazine which means we work with EVERY part of the industry.
Which is why, as we begin the final countdown to the trickiest peak of the year at the best of times and this year more challenging than ever, I want to pay tribute to all the suppliers around the world who have made it possible for florists – both shop based and online – to carry on trading.
You have all been amazing. Thank you for being total hero’s and heroines.
Without you the industry couldn’t have made it this far, never mind be looking forward to the future.
*** Brexit is going to take time to settle in and whilst there have been amazing efforts made there will continue to be teething problems as issues are ironed out and further changes come into play. We'll keep talking and reporting so you are up to date.
*** The picture above simply isn't big enough to showcase ALL the companies that have gone the absolute extra mile over the last 11 months to get flowers and plants into the retail sector ... there are hundreds and thousands of you so I have randomly selected shots either seen on Facebook or in my computer! However if you've got pictures you'd like to share just email
Caroline Marshall-Foster
Editor
