A leading flower shop in the heart of Westside is looking positively towards the future as it prepares to enter its 21st year of trading.
Ethos Flowers, based in Brunswick Street, Brindleyplace, overcame more than three months of national lockdown by developing its online business.
And it is now looking to expand its range of products in 2021 when, hopefully, the current damaging tier system of restrictions will be over.
As part of our #WestsideStillWorking series, the BID is focusing on Ethos Flowers, founded and run by owner Mark Gribben.
Mr Gribben said: “We closed in March when the first lockdown began and that significantly affected our corporate business, which accounts for 50 per cent of our trade.
“But we spent lockdown improving our website so that our online offer is now 100 per cent up on this time last year in terms of sales.”
The shop was able to re-open on July 1 when the national lockdown ended, and Mark added: “We are going to continue to improve by expanding the range of products we offer.”
Mark, an engineer by trade but with a sales and marketing background, said he was “very positive” about the future.
“I do think people will start coming back to offices to work but, in the meantime, our phones are going non-stop and we are very busy through ‘click & collect’ and online.
“Brindleyplace, the BID team and, more importantly, our customers have been very supportive throughout all this. It’s been very humbling.
“We find that when people want to spend money on flowers, they want to speak to someone knowledgeable, and all our staff are trained florists.
“We do have a reputation for quality, that’s why we are still in business.”
Mark said that as a boutique flower store, Ethos specialises in creating professionally arranged flower displays, hand delivered across Birmingham. Nationwide deliveries are sent through the Interflora network.
He added that a further development next year would be on green issues, which he said were very important.
“The new year will see Ethos using biodegradable cellophanes and sundries, and looking at other ways to make our business carbon neutral,” he said.
“Ethos has been through various incarnations during our 20 years of business and I’m confident we will continue to bloom in the coming years, concentrating on freshness, quality of service and attention to detail.”
● Anyone wishing to contact Ethos for help or advice can call a floral advisor on 0121 616 6182 or visit www.ethosflowers.com.
By Tony Collins
