Romanian flower retailer Floria sold EUR 1 million worth of flowers in 2014, 75% of which via the online platform Floria.ro.

The remaining 25% represented corporate sales and special orders for personal or business events, the company announced.

The retailer started to implement an expansion project last year, which implies investments of over EUR 200,000 by the end of 2015. The project’s first step focused on online rebranding and separating the online business from offline and B2B operations, with development strategies for each division.

Floria makes free flower deliveries to 139 cities across the country.

“In 2014, 75% of orders were paid by card, but there is still a significant share of 25% of customers who prefer other options – payments via terminals, cash, bank transfers, and even in instalments,” said Marina Matei, e-Commerce manager of Floria.ro.

The average value of an order on floria.ro was of RON 210 (EUR 47), slightly higher than in previous years.

Roses remain Romanians’ favorite flowers, but the share of clients who chose these flowers dropped to 70% in 2014, from 90% the year before.

Tax evasion remains the main problem faced by players on the local flower market, estimated at over EUR 100 million, in 2013, according to Floria. Online flower sales are just a small portion of that, with an estimated value of EUR 2.5 million in the last two years.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(photo source: freeimages.com)