Artificial Flowers
I recently heard about a shop in Hong Kong that specialises in Fake Flowers and makes fantastic profits. I was sceptical at first but after some research realised that like many other things the technology of manufacturing fake flowers has moved on since the days of mum & kids assembling plastic parts at home on a piece rate.
Have a look at www.kinkadestudios.com/ or www.florist.com.cn/ to get a feel for the range, and the quality of items available, even fake trees.
This is a product with a bad reputation; people have a tendency to think cheap and tacky when the reality is that many of the high quality products are indistinguishable from the real thing even with a fairly close up examination. Of course they have no smell but they also donˇ¦t need watering and will not catch diseases. The opportunity to market this product range is fantastic. Some idea below: -
Open a shop
Create arrangements for commercial spaces/events
Sell on EBAY
Build a Website
Organise arranging competitions
Organise educational events
Attend shows and exhibitions
The obvious answer here is to open a shop. You don't have to get up at 5a.m.
in the same way as a traditional flower shop, but you will need to invest in
a good location with plenty of passing trade. Read our web pages on finding
customers to understand more about what is involved in opening a shop. The
key here is that you need people to see, touch, and hold your products to believe
in the quality. You will quickly develop loyal customers if you get the location
and the shopping experience right. Think about add-ons like delivery of bouquets
and arrangements. What better than a wedding bouquet that will last a lifetime?
If the cost of opening a shop is prohibitive but you either have (or are willing learn) flower arranging skills then it is time to think about promotional skills. If you can persuade office buildings, hospitals, town halls etc. to stock your bouquets then you should be able to enjoy a steady stream of repeat business. I would take the following approach: -
Contact the building managers
Offer to leave the flowers free for a week to gather feedback
Show the cost savings over a 6 month period against real flowers
Explain that there will be less cleaning required, leaves don't drop etc.
Offer a rotation plan on a regular basis (weekly, monthly?)
Create a payment plan that gives you regular monthly income.
Selling on EBAY or via an Online portal does not give you the same opportunity to explain the quality of your product to others, but if you can attract those who already understand your product range then purchasing overseas and selling locally should leave plenty of margin for healthy profits.
Building your own website is not a solution for making sales but as a support tool to your other distribution methods is invaluable, and can become you primary customer interface if you are prepared to promote the site. Get onto bulletin boards and chat rooms that deal in flower arranging, let local schools and colleges know about the site etc. Again see the web pages on finding customers for some ideas on how to do this.
Organising competitions using your artificial flowers is fun. You get to pick judges and can organise in public spaces (shopping malls, colleges, school sports day etc.) so that the audience gets to see what can be done with your product and of course hopefully will leave with your catalogue, or business cards. Give the finished arrangements to the local old peopleˇ¦s home for a nice touch philanthropy bearing in mind of course that many retirees also enjoy flower arranging.
Educational events are similar to competitions. You can run regular one day, or one evening introductory classes to flower arranging. Use your own products and ensure that the charges will cover your stock. Participants should get a nice certificate to take home along with their arrangement, and of course a catalogue, list of formal courses at local night schools, and your business card. Lay on some refreshments and make it fun. Alternatively you could make these events free, and offer them in schools, Girl Scout groups, old people's homes etc. as it allows you to identify those with an interest/talent who may become customers later.
Trade magazines will tell you when the big events are happening. Try to get a stand at fresh flower shows and gardening events to show your alternatives. The stand will be expensive but your stock should stand out a mile and stir up a lot of interest. Note that some kind of movement will ensure more passers by, use fans and windmills, or goldfish, or something similar to draw the eye of passers by.
It is relatively easy to find suppliers of artificial flowers, plant and trees using www.alibaba.com but you need to be sure of the quality. Follow the links through to the contact details and browse through the supplier's website. If it looks interesting then contact them and enquire about samples, full colour photos etc. You need to understand the quality of the product as buying boxes of poor quality items will be an expensive learning curve for you.
You can of course find the same stock closer to home, and will undoubtedly be able to find suppliers in India, and other developing markets. I would stress however that in this case the manufacturers in Guangdong Province of China have 40-50 years of experience in this market and are likely to be a step or two ahead. I would certainly start my search there.
Remember that you need clear guarantees about quality, and returns. Check whether the companies you are interested in are geared up for export and can take care of all the procedures at their end. This should not be a problem for the higher quality outfits.
You will meet some resistance when you tell people what you are planning to sell. Your most challenging job is to get the product in front of customers. If you have chosen your stock well then the product will do the rest for you.