Monceau Fleurs

Source: Retail Digital

Date :10/12/2007 11:28:07

With 125 stores in France, Monceau Fleurs has now entered the UK. David Belhassen, the Head of UK Operations explains the company’s plans for market domination

Written by Lucy Mowatt and produced by Charles Sizeland

Established in 1965 by Laurent Merlino, the model for the French floristry business has remained largely unchanged in spite of changing markets; it still aims to offer “the best flowers at the best prices”. Now it has opened a new store in London’s South Kensington, and wants to revolutionise the way we buy flowers.

French entrepreneur David Belhassen is leading the company’s plans to take over the high street. The owner of a private equity firm was previously involved with the development of Paul Bakeries, another French retailer in the UK. This company started out with two stores two years ago; now there are 25 bakeries in the UK. A similar model of expansion is now being adapted for Monceau Fleurs.

David Belhassen explains. “We bought the know-how and the brand for the UK and control the capital of this operation. The French parent company is a minority partner in the business.” The plan is to open two or three Monceau Fleurs shops over the next year or so before growing very rapidly across the country. The company already has stores in a number of other countries, including Japan, Portugal and Luxembourg. Going forward there are plans to look at opportunities in large flower buying countries such as Germany.

This expansion strategy is currently being undertaken across France too, where there are currently 140 outlets bringing in a turnover of around 100 million. The company’s strategy is to open another 140 shops within the next three years.

The market for flowers in the UK, according to Mr Belhassen is worth €3.5 billion, in contrast to the €2.5 billion market in France. He also explains that there were other reasons behind the move to UK. He says, “quite specifically, 50 percent or more of the flower market in the UK is held by the supermarkets. We believe that this has killed the high street florist. You used to have lots of small kiosks in the UK and a couple of high street names. From our point of view we think there’s an opportunity for an independent, focused and dedicated florist with a great variety in terms of offering, design, quality and also service.” He says that this was also the case in France, and Monceau Fleurs has attempted to change the trend.

Customer experience

Mr Belhassen continues by saying that two thirds of customers buying flowers and potted plants in the UK are actually buying them for their own use, while the rest are buying them as presents. As such, Monceau Fleurs aims to offer the public a unique and enjoyable shopping experience. He says that a lot of shopping is about buying necessities and everyday goods, which is dull and takes a large amount of time. “On the other hand, shopping for clothes, bread, cheese and flowers is pleasurable, so we want to make sure every customer coming into Monceau Fleurs feels the pleasure of shopping.”

The store in South Kensington is laid out so that customers can walk around the store and look closely at the flowers and enjoy the atmosphere. There is also a Nectar Natural Juice Bar, which complements the experience. David elaborates, “While a bouquet is being made, customers can sit down at the juice bar and have a drink or cup of tea. We think there is an association between natural juice and natural flowers.”

The store has 15 members of staff at the present time, who are all highly skilled florists. Three of these people are considered to be “designers” who are expert in their work. “It’s more than just training,” Mr Belhassen says. “It’s about experience, about taking on people who have done a lot of demanding work, like weddings and big parties.”

He highlights that, again, differing from supermarkets, the high number of staff means that the customer has someone to engage with. “At supermarkets you don’t have anyone to talk to; you just pick up the bunch and go. At a kiosk there might be one man outside who is cold and busy. If you go to a specialist designer with a brand name, you have to remortgage your house,” he jokes. He goes on to say that customers can come in and tell florists exactly what they want and become involved in the design. This is supported by the fact that the shop sells more self mixed bunches than ready-made bouquets.

Purchasing power

The operation in the UK is in close communication with the partner company in France. “We do not believe that floristry can be copy and pasted from one country to another; we do not believe it can even be pasted from one county to another. Every customer has their own habits, so we communicate a lot and discuss what has happened in France and what we can learn from.” He believes that a company must always be on its toes and responding to the market and its customers’ demands.

As part of a large group, Monceau Fleurs in the UK has a lot of purchasing power too; 1.37 million blooms are purchased every year. Mr Belhassen explains that the cost benefits of the supply chain can be passed onto the customer, so that they benefit from quality, low cost flowers. The flowers are sourced from all over the world, including Ecuador, Kenya, Asia, France and Holland. It even has its own broker on the Holland Flower Exchange. The Head of the UK business explains that it never uses intermediaries, but has its own people in these markets to ensure that it only buys the best flowers.

“We have over 80 types of flower in the shop at any one time; we have seasonal flowers and we also have different types of things, so that customers have more choice,” Mr Belhassen explains. He is also enthusiastic about Monceau Fleurs’ ability to meet unusual requests for customers, because it really impresses them and enhances their experience. The shop in South Kensington already has a number of repeat customers, and it has only been open since September 2007.

Quality control

There is also a heavy emphasis upon the quality of the flowers. David Belhassen believes that there are three key stages where flowers can be killed; when they are picked, when they are handled and when they are in store. Monceau Fleurs is very scrupulous about quality and ensures that there is a whole team working to safeguard quality, and florists in store can double check that everything available to the public is up to standard.

Maintaining the environment is an important part of looking after quality, and David Belhassen believes that business and environment go hand in hand: “We are a natural business, bringing nature to the customer. We want to work more with recycled paper and packaging and import directly from growers, so that we can minimise the logistical impact.”