KOTA KINABALU – Each year, days before February 14, workers at Margaret Florist here are overwhelmed by the stream of orders.
There are flowers to be arranged, wrapped and packed – some with additional decorations like chocolates and teddy bears – as lovebirds seek to deliver gifts to their special someone in time for Valentine’s Day.
A white five-tonne lorry was already parked in front of the store located in Kota Kinabalu’s historic Australia Place earlier today, as the dispatch driver checked on the engine in preparation for a full day of deliveries tomorrow.
It is nothing unusual for owner Reduan Armstrong as he went through the flowers and checklists, making sure the right orders get to the right people.
“Orders had come from a week ago, mostly online like through WhatsApp,” he said, stressing that people generally favour ordering online rather than making physical purchases at the shop.
“We had anticipated a huge number of walk-ins,” he said. “We were open yesterday and also today which is also a Chinese New Year public holiday. But it seems everyone is adopting the new norms and opted to make their orders online.”
The 42-year-old runs the florist business with his wife Pravinneet Kaur. Reduan inherited the business from his father, who in turn inherited it from his own father.
Margaret Florist was opened in 1983 and it’s services are sought by many as it also supplies for events, functions and parties. They also arrange deliveries to other areas like Penampang and Likas.
Flowers are ordered a month in advance on special occasions like Valentine’s Day to avoid the market rush for flowers, said Reduan, who revealed that most of the flowers are sourced from China while some are from Kenya.
“I ordered around 2,000 roses for Valentine’s Day,” he said, adding that not all are in condition to be put on sale after arriving.
“This amount is half of our usual orders during normal times. I’m trying to minimise losses. Luckily, all of them have already sold out.
“I have to cut down as I expected business would be slow due to the pandemic,” said Reduan, adding that he already experienced a 50% drop in business since Covid-19 hit Sabah in early 2020.
“Some of my florist buddies have already closed their businesses due to the Covid-19 and the lockdown,” he said.
He has also avoided ordering in bulk from countries like Colombia, Ecuador and Holland due to the higher exchange rates, only ordering “special” flowers in small amounts to cater to niche clients.
Although the orders are done a month in advance, he said, the flowers arrive to Kota Kinabalu in two days by flight. The orders from China had to be flown to Kuala Lumpur first, as there are no direct flights from there to Kota Kinabalu right now. – The Vibes, February 13, 2021
