Floristry is the design and assembly of floral displays for sale to members of the public or corporate customers. As well as selling individual items, florists deal with large-scale events such as christenings, birthdays, weddings, funerals, sporting events, conferences and state occasions.
The industry is mostly made up of small businesses. These are often linked together by large relay organisations like Interflora Flowers, Teleflorist and Flowergram.
Because businesses are small, each person has an important role to play. Successful florists possess a variety of skills including sales, marketing, promotion, personnel, accounts, stock ordering, environment and hygiene.
The UK fresh cut flower and indoor plant market is worth over £1.5 billion, which means that each person spends an average of £26 per year on cut flowers and indoor plants. There are approximately 8,200 floristry businesses in the UK, employing around 26,200 people.
