Leading French Florist Opens First Store In London

Tue, 02 Oct 2007

The first branch of the highly successful French florist Monceau Fleurs opened in London last week thanks to David Belhassen, the entrepreneur behind the Paul Bakery chain.

The store in South Kensington opened on 26 September in partnership with Laurent Amar, chief executive of the Monceau Fleurs Group (the leading brand in France), while Mr Belhassen added that a chain of 50 Monceau Fleurs florist shops will eventually be operating in the UK .

The Monceau Fleurs brand has 125 shops in France, more than double its nearest competitor, and is targeting its UK expansion over the next five years. The business has grown significantly from sales of €5m in 1999 to over €120 million euros today.

Around 147 million flowers and plants are sold by the company in France each year, while the average spend at its stores is eight times greater than the average spend across other florists in the country.

According to the group, London was chosen as the next location since the UK flower market is the second largest in Europe, after Germany, and is €1bn euros bigger than the French market, although the population is roughly the same.

Bouquets from Monceau Fleurs are on sale from £3, with stores expected to offer the largest selection of flowers and plants in the UK, including exclusive and innovative blooms that will not be available elsewhere, the group claimed.

In addition, the French florist claims to have cut out all of the middlemen and is the only florist with its own broker at the flower 'stock exchange' in Holland .
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