The best edible flowers

'ultrawealthy,' aspirational' consumers also feel economic pinch

Retailers who deal in high-end goods and services are feeling the effects of the economic downturn as some of the country's wealthiest citizens forgo luxuries — $250 haircolor highlights, $10,000-an-hour personal jet rentals — that had become lifestyle standards.

"Even if they're not in danger of not paying their mortgage, there's still a psychological change," Chris Del Gatto, chief executive of Circa, a company that buys and resells high-end jewelry, said to The New York Times. "The economy is an issue even for people who don't need the money."

And the economy, according to people who provide services to the wealthy, is having a ripple effect on affluent Americans, forcing them to quietly sell prized possessions, return to natural hair colors to avoid salon bills and cut back on visits to personal trainers and nutritionists.

"They come into the gym with a dark storm cloud over their head," said Clay Burwell, a personal trainer to many Wall Street executives.

The shift isn't just anecdotal: In April, Mercedes-Benz announced March 2008 sales were down by 3.7 percent compared to March 2007, according to USA Today. In the same time period BMW sales dropped by 8.7 percent and Lexus by 13.6 percent, with overall luxury vehicle sales down by 13 percent this year, according to the story.

"It's a recession that has a double whammy: Your real estate is down, and your investment portfolio is down," Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute, said to USA Today. "Even the ultrawealthy are saying, 'Let me pause here and see what's going on.' "

Not surprisingly, "aspirational" customers — people who are "relative newcomers to upscale living" — are feeling the downturn more than their more established neighbors: Nearly 40 percent of consumers "averaging $155,700 annual income surveyed late last year by Unity Marketing said they would be spending less in 2008 on luxury goods," according to USA Today.

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Kenya: flowers growers eye bigger share of Japan market

Walk through a Japanese market and you'll find perfectly formed and delicately presented fruits and flowers on offer. But stretch out a hand at your own peril.

Stall-owners are protective of their high value offering. The small, densely urban nation imports more than half of its food and fresh produce and consumers expect top quality for the high prices.

High quality standards, as well as a large market -the world's second biggest economy - makes Japan a tough but potentially rewarding target for exporters.

So far, Kenya has barely dented this market with its penchant for luxury goods. Exports are miniscule compared to the inflow of goods in the other direction - a ratio of 1:19, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But a delegation of flower growers attending the African fair in Yokohama this week hope to shift some of this imbalance southwards. The flower growers are currently ahead of the pack. Their exports surged between 2005 and 2006, largely thanks to participation in a major Tokyo flower show.

Jetro, the Japan External Trade Organisation, helped by organising sample shipments before the show and giving growers feedback on their product. Flower sales to Japan jumped from $4.37 million in 2005 to $8 million the next year.

Kenya now supplies almost 10 per cent of Japan's annual 3.6 million kilos of rose imports, the second biggest supplier after India. That doesn't include the sales made at Dutch auctions.

Exports of tea and coffee are growing too. Tea sales reached $3.2 million in 2007, up 20 per cent on the prior year. Growth is mainly due to production problems in Sri Lanka but also greater availability of Kenyan green tea, the preferred type in Japan, says Jetro's Nairobi staff.

Kenyan produce is seen as organic and free of pesticides, a boon for Japanese consumers, say the trade officials. Yet flowers are still required to be fumigated to kill pests before reaching Japan, and that is holding back greater sales, say the growers.

But the fumigation method has a damaging impact on cut flower quality. In the process, plants are heated to between 30-35 degrees Celsius, reducing shelf-life by up to 40 per cent, according to one industry estimate.

"Japan is a high-margin market but also a high-risk market," says Richard Fox, former managing director at Homegrown, one of Kenya's biggest flower farms.

"When dealing with Europe, we're confident of meeting requirements. But going the other way, we have no experience. Kenyan producers have grown up alongside the Dutch inspection facilities and developed relationships. We don't have that kind of relationship with the Japanese," says Jane Ngige, chief executive of growers' body, the Kenya Flower Council.

Homegrown may use the expertise gained by its sister farm in southern China, which has recently started exporting to Japan. But in China too, many growers are frustrated by requirements for fumigation, with some calling it a protectionist measure.

Greater presence on the "prestigious" Japanese flower market would be beneficial for growers, increasing margins and helping to diversify from Europe, says Ms Ngige.

Quality inspector

In Japan, the world's second biggest flower market after the US, it is common for people to spend up to $100 on a bouquet for a first-time visit to a friend's house.

The Kenya Flower Council wants a fumigation facility to be set up in Nairobi to allow growers to control the process and reduce damages before freighting to Tokyo. But five years after the idea was first raised, there has been little headway on the project.

"It depends on the priorities of the Kenyan side," says Shintaro Matoba, executive director of Jetro Nairobi. "If the government wants to spend our technical assistance funds on other areas like health and education, there may not be enough for a fumigation plant."

Such a facility would require an investment of up to $10 million, he estimates.

Growers have asked for a Japanese quality inspector in Kenya to help them achieve the high standards. But Japan says it does not have enough staff. "If Kenya became a bigger exporter then this may be more likely," says Mr Matoba.

Direct flights would also boost fresh exports to Japan. Currently flowers have to be flown via Dubai, more than doubling the time it takes to get flowers to the Netherlands.

Source: AllAfrica.com

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survey says: florists raise delivery fees at different times

Eight in 10 retail florists have increased their delivery fees during the past year — 65 percent during the past six months, and 13 percent within the two weeks. Almost one in 10 (not shown) raised their fees more than six months ago.

Timeframe of When Florists Increased Delivery Fees

Source: Zoomerang online Fuel/Gasoline Survey of retail florists. Results based on 603 responses

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