5 Ways to Save Money on Flowers

So you want to send flowers in Canada, but your budget's stretched a little tight? That's totally understandable. After all, the prime gift-giving season of the year is coming up and there's nothing worse than that "January hangover" when the credit card bills come.

But it's easy to take a load off your wallet if you're open to shopping for flowers online.

A great example of the huge
savings you can find with
Bloomex: this Melody
Collection assortment is
on sale for just $39.95.

Here are 5 easy ways to save money on flowers as we approach the holiday season.

1. Ditch the local florist
They know that once you're in the shop, you're not likely to compare pricing, so there's no motivation for them to offer the best possible prices. They also need a nice margin on their products to support the cost of their brick-and-mortar store and other operational costs. 

2. Forget the grocery store
Many grocery stores sell flowers because it's often an impulse purchase. Just like the tabloid magazine and packs of gum at the register, they're trying to tempt you to buy something that you had no real intention of purchasing when you walked in. And just like those batteries at the cash, they're high-margin items for the stores. Don't be sucked in.

3. Don't use a wire service
Most of the huge, international, well-known flower sites simply farm out their orders to the local florists. Again, everyone has to make a little margin along the way, and that drives up the end cost to you. Don't fall for it.

4. Shop around.
Do a little bit of price comparison if you have the time. It's quite amazing how much the same bouquets and arrangements can vary in price from place to place.

5. Buy from Bloomex.
Because of the company's revolutionary business model, we're able to offer flower bouquets and arrangements for, usually, about 35% - 50% lower than our competitors. Bloomex buys straight from the growers and arranges its bouquets in its own, company-owned production facilities spread out across the country -- and on-time delivery is available for upwards of 97% of the population. So go ahead, and shop around as we suggested.... but we already know what you'll find. Bloomex's prices can't be beat in Canada.

8 Reasons to Buy Flowers From Bloomex

You have lots of choices out there for spending your hard-earned cash on flowers. There's the familiarity of dropping by the grocery store on the way home from work -- but rest assured you'll be paying a premium. There's the local florist around the corner -- but again, you'll be paying a premium (more details on that later on.)

And then there's the multinational conglomerate wire services, which, hint-hint.... farm their orders out to, you guessed it, local florists. You end up paying a whole lot more than you deserve to.

A BETTER ALTERNATIVE:

Instead of all that, take a look at what Bloomex offers. Here are eight great reasons to use us for your flower delivery needs in Canada.

1. QUALITY. Our flowers arrive straight from the farm to our production facilities, which are located in eight major markets across the countries. That means fresher products.

2.  VARIETY. We have hundreds of bouquets and arrangements for you to choose from. But did you know that in addition to fresh cut flowers, we specialize in gift baskets, spa baskets, chocolate, gourmet foods and more?

Forget the rest. Go with the best.

3. CONVENIENCE. Point, click, order... it's as simple as that. Not sure exactly what you're looking for? Check out our popular Designers Collection, which puts the decision-making in the hands of our talented florists and floral arrangers.

4. PRICE. The flowers wire services and local florists get their flowers through a convoluted system of wholesalers and/or importers, and there are margins to be made at each step of the process. Cut those middlemen out, and it results in a lower cost for the consumer. We pass those savings on to you.

5. CUSTOMER SERVICE. Our operators are standing by to help. And if its the middle of the night, try our online chat system or shoot us an email. We always strive to live up to our company motto of "We care."

6. ORDER AHEAD. Hey, we're all forgetful sometimes. Take the worry out of the process by placing your order ahead of time, for delivery on a specific day.

7. WE DELIVER ALMOST ANYWHERE. Unless you're stationed in Alert, there's a pretty good chance that we can get your flowers to your loved one.

8. WE'RE CANADIAN. We were established in Ottawa in 2005 and provide quality work for Canadians in eight major markets. We really are Canada's National Florist.

The Bloomex Story: How a small Canadian start-up changed the online florist industry forever.

Interested in learning about the history of Bloomex? Here's a quick primer for your perusal.

One big idea

In 2006, Dimitri Lokhonia had a big idea. With the boom in new technologies, and Internet access becoming available to virtually every Canadian, so many businesses had undergone rapid change to cater to this new world of the web. But Lokhonia saw that flower delivery sites lagged behind the times, and knew there had to be a better way. Granted, the old-school models of existing florists fulfilling orders through wire services were successful – for the florists. But for consumers, the several stages of middlemen only added to their final cost. Bloomex was born out of the notion of doing things better than they’d been done before, and most importantly, offering consumers the lowest possible prices lower prices to send flowers anywhere in the country.

The Bloomex Advantage

Lokhonia founded Bloomex in 2006, spurring a revolution in the online florist industry. The plan? Bloomex would take orders on bloomex.ca, and instead of dealing with the convoluted, antiquated wire services, Bloomex would buy directly from flower growers. The orders would then be created and distributed from their own facilities, strategically located throughout our vast, great nation. The successful execution of such a plan required sheer determination and tenacity. Bloomex, in true, traditional Canadian fashion, is a company built on hard-work and perseverance.

Expansion of all sorts

Gift Baskets have become a
very successful part of Bloomex's
online offerings.

Bloomex’s corporate headquarters are located in the Nation’s Capital, Ottawa. Since those early days, the company’s success has allowed them to open additional production facilities in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. While Canadian based, Bloomex also has an International presence with full scale operations, production and fulfillment facilities located in USA and Australia.

Never content to rest on its laurels, the company has branched out from flowers to include other product offerings through its website. In 2008, Bloomex began selling Gift Baskets – the company is now Canada’s largest and most successful Fruit and Gift Basket provider. More recently, Bloomex added a line of Gourmet Gift products and a variety of other items. The company has also had great success with corporate sales -- gift baskets (which can be enhanced with Corporate Branded items like mugs and hats) are a huge hit, and the company also offers a unique “Office Fruit” program that provides fresh fruit on a weekly basis and promotes a healthy lifestyle. 

Canada’s Official Florist

Bloomex is Canada’s largest and most successful florist, having recently fulfilled its One Millionth order. Its commitment to high quality products at fair prices has paid off, as has the company’s pride in their customer service, both before and after-sale. Bloomex appreciates their customers and clients, and never takes them for granted. They are proud to be a wholly-owned and operated Canadian company. Bloomex is Canada’s true “Official Florist.”

Why the Bloomex model works

Taken from: Financial Post Published: Friday, November 28, 2008

Re: Flower Shop Empire A Bloomin’ Good Idea, Nov. 10.

Cesario Ginjo wants to build a national brand of flower retailers and distributors, according to the CBC show Dragon’s Den and the National Post. His position is that if he could find investors to finance his idea of creating a Canada-wide florist, he could “hit the ground running, open a new location and do $200,000 to $300,000 a year in business.”

This idea would be a unique one, except Bloomex ( bloomex.ca)has already implemented this business concept. Since 2005, Bloomex has been Canada’s largest florist. It has production facilities in seven major Canadian cities — Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. Bloomex is the only Canadian online florist that can deliver to over 97% of the Canadian population from its own production facilities. In the Bloomex model, flowers are bought directly from the growers, eliminating the expensive middleman and overhead expenses. It also reduces transit time from growers to Bloomex production facilities, which equates to fresher flowers that last longer at a better price.

Bloomex has more cost-effective practices by reducing overhead expenses with warehouses, as opposed to store front retail, and passing the savings on to consumers. The Bloomex business model allows us to design and deliver fresh cut flower bouquets at 35%-50% cheaper than traditional florists.

Michelle Robitaille, Public Relations Manager, Bloomex.