Interview with Bill LaFever, Owner of BDC on Supply Chain challenges and expectations for the Retail Florist
Worried about getting product for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine's Day? You're not alone — it's the number one concern Vonda and Lori are hearing from shops. So Vonda went straight to one of the industry's best-placed authorities: return guest Bill LaFever, owner of the Bill Doran Company, past president of the Wholesale Florist and Floral Supplier Association, and current chairman of the board of the Society of American Florists. His first appearance became one of the podcast's most-downloaded episodes, and this conversation explains exactly what's happening between the farm and your cooler — and what to do about it.
A tale of two wholesalers
Like retail, wholesale is splitting into two paths: surprisingly strong sales on one side, and a slide toward the cliff edge on the other. The struggling wholesalers, Bill explains, are caught in a self-fulfilling prophecy — they bring in less product on speculation, so retailers find empty coolers, so sales drop, so they bring in even less. Then they cut delivery routes from five days a week to three to two, and push their own customers to look elsewhere. You can't save your way to profitability, and wholesale lives on volume: when the inbound and outbound trucks aren't full, margins shrink fast. The retail parallel is obvious — if you don't have product available, customers go somewhere else too.
Why the supply is tight: buses, farms, and freight
Bill paints a picture most florists never see. In South America, farm workers ride packed buses — sometimes 60 or 70 people standing on a bus that seats 40 — for up to an hour to reach the farms, and the packing houses put people shoulder to shoulder. COVID caution has created real labor shortages. On top of that, when the pandemic hit in spring, farms conserved cash: they laid off workers, skipped fertilizer investments, and let greenhouses go untended, so production is down and slower to recover. Farms are pinching flowers now to hit the 90-day window for Valentine's roses, and any outbreak that shuts a farm in the next couple of weeks could hurt.
Bill believes Valentine's Day itself will be okay — growers need a strong Valentine's more than anyone and are going all in. The real caveat is freight out of Ecuador and Colombia: he's anticipating rates at double last year's Valentine's rates, which already carry a premium since wholesalers outbid each other for plane space and pay for empty return flights. Expect that to show up in pricing.
Order early — and lock in 75 percent
For Thanksgiving and Christmas, product exists, but it will dry up at the end and prices won't drop the way old-timers remember red-and-white diving the week before the holiday — they could actually rise. Bill's advice: get at least 75 percent of your estimated holiday needs locked in now with your preferred supplier (he'd personally do 100), and only play the market with the last 25 percent if your risk tolerance allows.
Evergreens are even tighter. Bill's pickers and suppliers across Wisconsin, New York, North Carolina, and the Northeast cut off orders eight to ten days earlier than normal this year — with people staying home for the holidays, demand for home decorating has surged. If your greens order isn't confirmed yet, especially roping and product for outdoor decorating accounts, scramble now. And relationships matter: suppliers aren't opening new accounts for wholesalers who weren't buying regularly all along.
What retailers should actually do
Bill's playbook for shops right now comes down to three things. First, keep your relationships with one or two key suppliers strong and communicate constantly. Second, stay flexible in how you sell: he specifically praises the Flower Clique approach of selling color palettes and overall concepts rather than rigid recipes, because "three stems of this, two of that" requirements are exactly what breaks a tight supply chain — and skyrockets prices when 1,500 Sahara roses are needed in four days. Third, stress creativity and customization in your marketing. That's what consumers want, and it's what separates you from the drop-shipped box on the doorstep. It doesn't take much — an added ribbon, an extra pop of yellow, a customized card — the industry takes those touches for granted, but they're huge to the customer.
The proof: designer's choice is currently the number one seller on shop websites. As Lori points out, every designer's choice order is a statement of trust — "just send the best of your creation." Vonda adds a pricing warning of her own: with shipping costs climbing, make sure special-order pricing (like those wedding roses quoted a month ago) reflects what product actually costs now. You need to be profitable at this time.
Key takeaways
- Lock in at least 75 percent of your estimated holiday product now with your preferred supplier — prices will not drop at the end, and product will dry up.
- Confirm evergreen and roping orders immediately; suppliers cut off orders 8-10 days early this year as home-decorating demand surged.
- Expect Valentine's freight from South America at roughly double last year's rates, and price your work accordingly.
- Sell color palettes, concepts, and designer's choice instead of rigid recipes — flexibility protects you in a tight supply chain and showcases your artistry.
- Market your customization: a ribbon, a card, an extra color. It's what customers can't get from a box shipper.
Sponsored by:
Flower Clique
Flower Clique Prep School
Real Life Retail Florist