Romania's online flower shops sell EUR 1.5 mln worth of flowers half – year, poised for future growth

The flower shop market in Romania was at EUR 200 million last year, and the online florists market is only a small fraction of it, but constantly growing, according to online flower shop FlorideLux.ro. In the first half of 2013, the online flower shop market in Romania stood at some EUR 1.5 million, which was a 10 percent increase on the segment from the same period of last year, according to the company's estimations. By year-end, this market segment should reach a value of EUR 2.5 million, similarly to last year, according to FlorideLux.ro. "The Romanian market of online florists is quite uncertain from the point of view of those who invest in such a business. Not being aware of the degree of difficulty which exists in such a business, many individuals invest in online flower shops during February-March, after which they close their doors for lack of performance, " said Marius Dosinescu, CEO and founder of the group FlorideLux. The market is also highly competitive, said Dosinescu, who added there are nine large players on the online niche, sharing the market with 120 smaller players. The company estimates FlorideLux.ro has a 25 percent market share, and its eight main competitors share 60 percent of the market. The rest of 15 percent is split among the 120 small competitors, Dosinescu estimates. Floridelux group posted a turnover of EUR 500,000 in 2012 and hopes for EUR 600,000 end – 2013. The market trend is however positive, both for the traditional flower shops, and for the online ones. The offline floristry market was characterized by a positive trend towards proper regulation and fiscal requirements, according to FlorideLux.ro. In the first eight months of last year, flowers worth EUR 15.2 million were imported in Romania, 7 percent more on the same period in 2011, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The overall market growth for the online flower shop segment is estimated at some 30 to 40 percent a year, due to rising confidence in the Internet among Romanians in urban areas, with payment processors playing a major starring role here. “The florist segment had an impressive performance in the first seven months of this year, when the volumes recorded in our stores exceeded by 37 percent the volume achieved in 2012, " said Daniel Nicolescu, General Manager of PayU Romania. The average value of an online flower shop order is of EUR 43, and stayed relatively constant between January 2012 and June 2013. Floridelux.ro, created in 2003, is part of the Romanian e-commece group which also includes www.deluxeflowershop.com, www.coroane.ro, www.gradinidelux.ro, www.florarie-flori.com, www.brazidecraciun.ro, www.decoratiunidecraciun.ro, www.brazi.ro, www.braziartificiali.ro, www.braziinghiveci.ro. The Romanian business angel and investor Marius Ghenea invested in floridelux.ro and brazidecraciun.ro back in 2008. editor@romania-insider.com