RICHMOND, Va. — Supply chain issues brought on by the pandemic have affected just about every business sector of the economy. As Valentine’s Day approaches, there are growing concerns about a shortage of flowers.
However, a Richmond flower market has good news for those looking for a special arrangement or bouquet: they have plenty of flowers available.
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On Sunday afternoon, the florists at Vogue Flowers at Scott’s Addition were hard at work arranging arrangements and getting ready for a busy week.
“Business has been great,” said company president Steve Papoulakos. “We had no problem getting the flowers, the quantities or the quality.”
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While some flower markets across the country are feeling the crunch of a thorny supply chain, Papoulakos said shipments are arriving almost daily at Vogue. They come from various parts of the globe, including California, Colombia, Ecuador, and Holland.
“We received over 1,500 boxes of flowers yesterday,” he said.
Currently, industry experts say there is a global flower shortage because:
- Farmers haven’t planted as much during the pandemic
- Poor conditions in growing areas
- Labor shortages
- Increase in the cost of supplies
- Delays in shipments
Papoulakos said he was able to avoid these challenges by planning well in advance and importing flowers directly from farmers.
“We’ve been doing this for 35 years now,” he said. “We have great relationships with the farms.”
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Plus, the Vogue team has learned what works and what doesn’t throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Sometimes we duplicate the same order,” Papoulakos said. “Sometimes we add things or if something didn’t work, we delete.”
However, the company is facing a few supply chain issues. Glassware and manufactured goods from China have been harder to find, so the price of these items has risen. Papoulakos said flower costs will remain stable despite higher freight costs.
“We absorbed those costs,” he said. “We are looking forward to a good Valentine’s week and encourage everyone to go out and buy flowers.”
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