Mornings with Mayesh: Patrick Dahlson (March 30)

With COVID-19 affecting lives all around the world, Patrick Dahlson, Mayesh's CEO, joined Yvonne for a special Mornings with Mayesh. They discussed the changing landscape of the floral industry from Patrick's perspective in addition to answering questions on pricing, availability, flower farms, the Dutch market, and so much more. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments below to be added to next week's show. We are in this together!

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Here are the video, podcast replay, and show notes:

SHOW NOTES

QUESTIONS

• Pricing:
• @egfloraldesign: How will this affect pricing on future orders?
• Nia: How high will the price of flowers go up?
• Kim: Some of my colleagues and I are wondering if there will be an increase in overall flower cost once the flower supply chain gets moving again.
• Marcy: 
• 1. Should we expect flower costs to go up over the upcoming recovery months
• 2. are we literally stepping in where we left off?
• 3 how can we help as buyers/ consumers to cover these lost costs? Can we help you, to help us? 
• Ashanti: Are we still able to get pricing for flowers for quotes for summer events 
• Maggie: Are the florists speaking in wholesale or retail when they do pricing - one I heard mentioned wholesale pricing which since you are open to everyone - we don’t want the public getting to the prices. 
  
  
• Availability:
• @cedargardengirl: Are imports slowing down?
• Jimmie: After the end of the quarantine how long will it take for floral material to be ready for purchase or shipping. What can we tell our clients who are planning weddings over the next few months?
• Darlene: 
• What is the status with Holland’s availability? 
• Is there any idea of how many farms will be closing for good?
• Plain and simple...can we get product like we did before?
  
  

• Nancy: Can Patrick explain what is happening to all the flower farms around the world?  I saw a photo on Facebook of a flower farm being mowed down in Holland. Why can’t Holland keep shipping to the states with the lesser demand?  Is it not cost-productive? How long will it take for the flowers to come back once the states open up for business again?
  
  
• Kelli:
• 1) I am seeing IG posts showing piles of flowers going to waste at the Dutch auction, and statements like "the Dutch market is on the verge of collapse".   How much of it is reality vs drama?
• 2)  As we emerge, and the wheels of commerce start turning again, how long will it take to refill the supply chain?
• 3)  Are there any specific groups of flowers that will be affected more than others?  ie. should we be thinking about substitutes for our summer and fall weddings?
• 4)  Do you expect quality issues due to flowers sitting in dry storage too long?

• Visser’s Florist: Pat, I get conflicting reports, even one from California State floral association that florists can remain open under limited capacity. What's your take?
  
  
• Brittani: What advice would you give to someone who has JUST taken the leap and started their business! Made the announcement of my new passion/ business on my birthday 3/16 announcing a 4/4 launch and now we are sheltered in place in my county in N.C. Where should I be focusing in regards to the business? Any ideas for possible safe ways to make some sort of profit and steady build the business and its presence at this time? Thank you for all you do for the floral community at Mayesh! 

• Faith: It's clear that due to the huge lack of supply/demand, slump in economies, job loss, event cancellations, and unknown economics,  that the floral industry is taking a huge hit. In the coming months ahead, what can be done to promote floral designers ~ is there any new market niche or appeal to promote floral business?

• Maribel: Any ideas for those florists with flowers in their cooler?
  
  
• Gretchen:
  • Do you feel it's going to take the Midwest floral and event industry longer to recover once the quarantine is lifted? If so, how long do you think that will be. Weeks? Months?
  • We already have a rough time getting good quality freshness to us during the winter, spring, and fall. To have to also have a summer delay would be seriously detrimental and I'd like to game plan for what to expect as an event designer.
    
    

• Update on Mayesh

LINKS MENTIONED

• https://blog.mayesh.com/covid-19-floral-business-checklist
• https://blog.mayesh.com/htxflowerbandits
• https://www.instagram.com/mmdevents/
• https://www.instagram.com/myslowflowers/ - https://linktr.ee/myslowflowers
• https://realflowerbusiness.com/how-to-go-live-on-facebook-2020/