The widespread effects brought upon by the Covid-19 has brought parts of the world to a standstill. Here in Singapore, it has been announced that the circuit breaker implemented will be extended by another month as our country fight to overcome this crisis. Many businesses have halted operations due to a myriad of reasons, be it law imposed by the government or a large decrease in sales. The fate of businesses, especially small ones, remains a question unanswered.
Whimsical Emporium has halted our operations since April. It is unfortunate that our introductory post is rather somber. We are a young floral store that has only launched last August. Without experiences in business operations, we learnt along the way. Our recent milestone was Valentine’s day. It was a successful first Valentine’s despite battling the disruptions brought upon by the onset of Covid-19. From promotions and advertising, to liaising with customers, suppliers and couriers, we were glad that everything went smoothly. It is an achievement that we are proud of. It was a fun madness that came along with all the orders, with a few hours of sleep each day crafting every bouquet and making sure all queries were answered. What we were most worried about was the last mile delivery aspect, it was of utmost importance that the flowers were delivered timely to the recipients. We were finally relieved when the very last bouquet was successfully delivered.
The disruption of supply chains has severely impacted our cut flowers suppliers. With the cancellation of flights and closing of borders, exportation of cut flowers has become much harder. Demand for flowers has dramatically decreased due to shuttered floral stores and cancellations of events worldwide. This resulted in Dutch growers destroying millions of tulips in the middle of the tulips season. As the Covid-19 uproots the entire global trade in cut flowers, we can only hope that the situation would quickly normalize, and financial aid would come along the way for our cut flowers grower to tide them through this crisis.
Despite the gloom and doom about the imminent crash of the $8.5 billion global flower trade industry, we continue to be hopeful about the future with our unfounded optimism. We can’t wait to achieve more milestones while growing Whimsical Emporium as a brand. And most importantly, crafting more designs to bring happiness to your loved ones.