05/05/2024 – 9:00
Giuliana Flores, the largest floriculture e-commerce in the country, guarantees that it can deliver products anywhere on the planet. How is this possible? According to the company’s founder and CEO, Clóvis Souza, the secret is partnerships.
“We deliver anywhere in the world. And we, in fact, receive orders from practically every continent, with a focus on Europe and the United States. Today, we were able to deliver to Miami in around 24 hours”, says Souza.
Currently, there are more than 300 brands that advertise their products on the Giuliana Flores website, in addition to 800 partner florists across the country and abroad, which allows delivery in short deadlines. An order for a flower arrangement to be delivered kilometers from the capital of São Paulo, for example, can be fulfilled in up to 90 minutes, according to the company. If the delivery location is too far from the company’s headquarters, the partners take action and forward the order placed.
In 2023, the company made more than 850 thousand deliveries. The company does not report annual revenue.
Who is Giuliana?
The company was founded in 1990 and the name was a tribute to an ex-girlfriend of Souza. His then mother-in-law even joined as a partner at the time, but left the business after the relationship ended.
His passion for flowers began in childhood. Souza’s family lived in a two-story house, at the top of a property where a flower shop operated. He says he used to play in front of the store, until his mother went there to ask him for a job.
“I learned the profession and fell in love with it. It is gratifying to produce an arrangement that is praised by the client. I improved and noticed that I was ready for something more”, says the CEO.
At 17, he decided to leave his job in search of new opportunities. Due to his experience, he even worked freelance in three other flower shops. At the age of 19, he decided to open his own flower shop in São Caetano do Sul, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. Giuliana Flores was born.
Adaptation to new consumption models
Over the past 30 years, Giuliana Flores has been adapting the business to changes in Brazilian consumption habits. One of the first changes was the realization that consumers no longer bought as many flowers to visit cemeteries, for example.
The company’s biggest turning point, however, was its entry into e-commerce. It was also in 2000 that Giuliana Flores launched her first catalog on the internet. The tool did not operate transactions or record orders, but functioned as an attraction so that customers could learn about the types of arrangements, products and prices charged.
“We created a page with a catalog of our products. We include available arrangements, products and prices. We included a contact number and that was how people came to us to place orders”, says Souza.
From then on, Giuliana Flores focused on partnership work. Bradesco customers, for example, received discount coupons to purchase at the store along with their card statements. A few years later, the brand launched a virtual store, where customers could place orders and pay, and the chain’s logistics department carried out deliveries. And, since 2010, the entire e-commerce technological infrastructure has been controlled by the company itself.
The price of flower arrangements on the company’s website can vary between R$49.90 and R$9,000, depending on additional products.
Physical stores and vending machines
In addition to the sales portal, the chain currently has six stores in operation, in addition to four kiosks. The expectation is to reach 15 physical spaces by the end of 2024. But, according to the founder, they serve more as an experience for the consumer, since the bulk of orders are received via the internet.
Recently, in addition to physical and online channels, Giuliana Flores launched automatic machines with arrangements in places with a large flow of people. The first was opened at the Tietê Bus Terminal, but there will be others.
In addition to the “vending machines”the company has been offering, since last year, an arrangement subscription service, where the customer can choose to receive flowers and different products weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Asked if he has already been approached by businesspeople or investment groups wishing to invest in Giuliana Flores, the businessman says that for now it is not in the plans to share control with other partners. “Yes, there already has been. But never a proposal that caught the eye or added to our growth strategies,” he says.
#opened #Giuliana #Flores #age #delivers #world