Carlisle flower firm sees sales blossom after rebranding

Jan 13 2010 by Iain Laing, The Journal

A FLOWER wholesaler has seen her sales blossom in the six months since she rebranded her business.

Carlisle-based The Flower Bank, which delivers to customers throughout the North East and North Yorkshire, saw a 75% increase in turnover during the second half of 2009, compared to figures from the equivalent six months the previous year.

Owner Helen Wilson bought Fearon Flowers Wholesale in the summer of 2008 and re-branded the company as The Flower Bank.

It launched in July 2009 at state-of-the-art premises on her father’s Bankdale Farm in north-east Cumbria.

“Our first half-year trading as The Flower Bank has been really encouraging and I’d like to thank all our customers for their ongoing support,” said Helen, a former shows and events co-ordinator for Holstein UK.

The business distributes fresh flowers, plants and sundries to florists throughout the North of England and Scotland.

She said that the business had welcomed in around 45% more customers since she re-branded and had increased sales of products other than its flowers.

“In line with the company’s new image, I’ve been increasing the number of our suppliers over the last few months to give our customers more choice,” explained Helen.

“By travelling to trade fairs and different European flower markets, I’ve also been able to improve the diversity and quality of supplies.”

The Flower Bank employs ten women, including trained florists, which help the company to understand the requirements of floral designers and florist shops.

“Over the last few months, we have been extending our geographical range whilst continuing to offer a first-class service to regular customers,” said Helen.

“I’ve got a fantastic team behind me and everyone pitches in, which has been really necessary during the recent cold weather.”

Popular lunchtime BBC2 business programme Working Lunch was scheduled to film at The Flower Bank last week but was forced to postpone the visit because of the extreme weather.

“Hopefully, the show will look us up next time they are filming in the North of England,” said Helen.