Flower Shop Owners Avoid Recession’s Thorns

additional reporting by Jennifer Brookland

The day after Valentine’s Day is recovery for most florists — replenishing arrangements and cleaning up the shop.
For Harry Nicolaou, owner of Rainbow Florist on Westchester Avenue, Monday was spent reorganizing after the business from the weekend.

Flowers left over from Valentine's Day were peddled on East 167th Street in the Bronx on Monday afternoon. Photo by: Alec Johnson

“It was a little off,” Nicolaou said, “not as good as previous years, but it was good.”
Although the months after Valentine’s Day can be slower, he said, people always want to buy plants, roses and other flowers all year long.
“There are birthdays and anniversaries,” Nicolaou said, “and weddings and unfortunately funerals.”
He said Mother’s Day is the next big holiday for florists, because business from Easter has decreased over the years.
However, a number of Bronx flower shops were still busy Monday, delivering bouquets from Valentine’s Day that hadn’t reached their rightful recipients. Several owners told The Bronx Ink they couldn’t even talk because of the deliveries and the lack of staff due to Presidents Day.
Jennifer Santana, an employee at Erica’s Flower Shop on Castle Hill Avenue, said the delivery truck drivers have been out all day making post-Valentine’s Day deliveries.
“It does get slow usually after Valentine’s Day,” Santana said. “But everything picks up around May when Mother’s Day comes around.”
She said the shop posts fliers and hands out business cards to promote business during the lag time.
Flower shop owner Karl Makris just celebrated his 29th Valentine’s Day at Rainflorist, and he’s only 46 years old. He said that the recession was obvious this holiday, adding that it could have been worse.

“Valentine’s Day used to be a grand slam for us,” said Makris, whose described this year’s profit as “still not nearly where it’s supposed to be.”

Nicolaou agreed, saying the street vendors sell flowers for less because they don’t have to charge for overhead.

“It concerns me a bit,” he said. “They sell them in the street and on my block. I know everyone has a right to make money, but it’s still bad for business.”

Thing are looking up, though. Rainflorist saw better sales than it did last year, and Makris thinks flowers will continue to be big sellers. “I think we’re the lesser of the evils,” he said, comparing flowers to more expensive romantic gifts like jewelry and fancy dinners. “And the women still love it, so we’re OK.”

Even the day after Valentine’s Day proved a pleasant surprise. A few amorous slackers showed up at Rainflorist today to buy the bouquets they’d forgotten about on Sunday.

Nicolaou said tulips, lilies and irises are popular purchases during the spring so he hopes business keeps increasing through the season.