National Florist Gives Hope With Christmas Charity Gift November 21, 2008

On August 15th, 2008, Bloomex announced the launch of the Give Hope Collection, a corporate initiative to support the fight against cancer. For the duration of this campaign, 10 to 15 percent of the sales of 12 individual bouquets will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society to support cancer research. Since its inception, only three months ago, Bloomex is proud to report that $10,500.00 has been raised through the sales of the Give Hope Collection.

“We are very pleased with the success of this campaign, still in its infancy. Over $10,000 raised for cancer research is an incredible feat which all of us at Bloomex are proud to be a part of,” says Michelle Robitaille, Public Relations Manager for Bloomex. “We anticipate the remainder of our partnership to be monumental in terms of contributions for cancer research.”

“The staff and volunteers of the Canadian Cancer Society are grateful for the generosity of Bloomex and its customers,” says Lesley Ring, Director, Corporate Development, Canadian Cancer Society. “Progress against cancer is made one donation at a time and the proceeds from the Give Hope Collection will help support Canada’s best cancer research and make a real difference in our efforts in the fight against cancer.”

Bloomex projects that the holiday season will yield an increase in sales of the Give Hope Collection, resulting in an increased donation to the Cancer Society. Bloomex has been so impressed at the consumer response to the Give Hope Collection, that it has introduced a special gift basket for the holiday season. The newly designed basket, named Give Hope Basket, will feature an assortment of premium quality cookies, candies and holiday snacks. Bloomex has announced that 20 per cent of the sales of the Give Hope Basket will be donated for cancer research. The Canadian Cancer Society and Bloomex have introduced a way for Canadians to make a difference while sending their holiday gifts. The entire give hope collection can be found at bloomex.ca/give-hope. The Give Hope Basket will officially be launched on November 20th and end Dec. 31st, 2008.

About Bloomex

Bloomex is a Canadian Online Flower Delivery company, offering various floral and gift arrangements throughout Canada and the U.S. via its online computerized system. The Bloomex website acts as a storefront allowing consumers worldwide to place orders online themselves, chat with a live agent or place orders through a 1-800 number. Bloomex has same day delivery to almost any location in Canada, and orders can be placed 24 hours a day. Bloomex Canada has production facilities located in major metropolitan areas such as Toronto, Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver. Bloomex has 2 new divisions, Flowers Wholesale which offers flowers in bulk to the general population and Bloomex Wedding Flowers, where they have wedding consultants to help with wedding flower selections.

About the Canadian Cancer Society

The Canadian Cancer Society is a national community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is to eradicate cancer and to enhance the quality of life of people living with cancer. When you want to know more about cancer, visit our website www.cancer.ca or call our toll-free, bilingual Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333.

Bloomex Innovation Is Dragon Den’s Misinformation November 21, 2008

OTTAWA November 14th, 2008 -Cesario Ginjo pitched an idea to the Dragon’s Den with implementation of a new concept; he wants to build a national brand of flower retailers and distributors according to the CBC Dragon’s Den and the National Post. His position is that if he could find investors to finance his idea of creating a Canada wide florist, he can “hit the ground running, open a new location and do $200,000 to $300,000 a year in business.”

To quote Mr. Ginjo: “With that base of sales you have the volume and the buying power to compete with the entire market. It would be like a chain store coming into the market. If you start plopping stores in seven to eight major locations in Canada, which is my idea. Now you can say, “We are a national brand.”

This idea would be a unique one, except Bloomex has already implemented this business concept since 2005. Bloomex is Canada’s largest florist. It has production facilities in 7 major Canadian cities, located in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. Bloomex is the only Canadian online florist that can deliver to over 97% of the Canadian population from it’s own production facilities. President of Bloomex, Dimitri Lokhonia who has been in the flower industry for over 9 years, adapted the Bloomex business model after noticing a similar model being used successfully in the U.S.. He began with a store front flower shop in Toronto, but Mr. Lokhonia wanted to introduce a new idea to the floral industry, one completely different than even FTD, and unique to Canada. Bloomex business model is to buy the flowers directly from the growers, which eliminates the expensive middleman and overhead expenses. It also reduces transit time from growers directly to Bloomex production facilities, which equates to fresher flowers that last longer at a better price. Bloomex has more cost effective practices by reducing overhead expenses with warehouses as oppose to store front retail, passing the savings on to consumers. The Bloomex business model allows them to design and deliver fresh cut flower bouquets at 35-50% cheaper than traditional florists. Orders can be placed via Bloomex’ secure online store http://bloomex.ca, or by their toll free number, 1-866-91-BLOOM.

This episode of the Dragon’s Den, which aired on Monday Nov. 3rd, 2008 heard Cesario Ginjo propose his business plan to the 5 moguls by beginning with, “So today, you cannot buy flowers in any major city in Canada and get the same product over and over”. When asked by one of the moguls, “There’s nothing equivalent in Canada?” Cesario replied “No”. As a national Canadian florist, with a consistent supply chain to all company owned facilities, Bloomex provides the same products and services from coast to coast.

Mr. Treliving of the Dragon’s Den responds to this proposal with, “We can’t be in a situation where we are a startup thinking it might work. We should be taking this to another level. It’s eight years old and hasn’t taken off. Why? Is it a great idea and it’s a small business or is it a great idea and a big business? That’s what the due diligence will tell us.” Bloomex can state that it is a great idea and a big business; their success in the past 2 years has shown that there is a demand for a Canadian online florist providing fresh cut flowers at better prices.

Bloomex Public Relations Manager, Michelle Robitaille comments, “We are outraged that no research was done to recognize Bloomex’s presence in this industry, being we are the largest and fastest growing florist in Canada whose continued growth is attributed to our patented F3 Fresh Flower Formula business model. Our unique model means we don’t have to “Rape and Pillage”. Our extensive contributions to a national charity like the Canadian Cancer Society have demonstrated that Bloomex is Canada’s floral preference. We welcome the challenge of others attempting to market a brand superior to Bloomex.”

Since Bloomex’s introduction to the market in 2005, they have bloomed to a staggering 200% sales increase just in the past 6 months. It has opened 4 new production facilities across the country, 2 of those facilities in Halifax and Winnipeg opened this past summer. They anticipate the opening of 3 new locations within the year. Bloomex had also launched a Flowers Wholesale division, which enables the general public to purchase bulk flowers for weddings, events, etc at a fraction of the regular price. Bloomex is the only Canadian wholesale florist that sells directly to consumers. Bloomex also has a wedding division of professional floral designers, arranging beautiful wedding flowers at practical prices.

Bloomex Media
http://bloomex.ca
publicrelations@bloomex.ca
613-963-0484

Christmas is Coming- Ideas for gift baskets and flower centerpieces November 5, 2008

Christmas has long been one of the most favored holidays. It’s a time to rejoice with family and friends, sharing the memories of the year that has passed. Christmas is a busy time of the year planning and hosting entertainments, parties, gatherings, and let’s not forget the shopping for the presents!

Whether you are decorating to fill the house or office with festivities, or adding decor for the Christmas season or shopping for a gift for that special person, many turn to flowers and gift baskets. But which is better? Depending on your purpose, both flowers, wreaths and gift baskets can be an appreciated gift but they both have different roles. Here are a couple of things you may want to consider for the Christmas holidays:

1- Decor

If you are planning on hosting a Christmas party, whether for the office or not, it is a great idea to decorate with Christmas flowers, among the popular one is by far the Poinsettias. Beware, if you own pets, keep Poinsettias far from them, as they are poisonous if eaten!

Christmas wreath have long been a favorite, they add warmth and festivities to the air. Although any Christmas wreath would suit, a real wreath has more perks such as the smell of fresh pine cones, flowers, and pine needles.

Christmas flower centerpieces are great for filing a room with intoxicating smells, and adding to the ambiance of the holiday season. Roses, and lilies are also very popular, mixed red and white for the traditional palettes, and mixtures of yellows, red and purples for the more modern trends starting to develop. A great way to maintain the use of your flowers is to dry them up, after about 7-10 days, and use the dried flowers in garlands, centerpieces, and on the Christmas tree. This works as a potpourri and decoration in one!

2- Hosting parties or events

Christmas gift baskets are a great selection for a raffle, or a Chinese Christmas party gift. Chinese Christmas is a gift exchange with a different twist. All participates bring a wrapped gift to the party, upon arrival you place your gift under the tree and take a number from a bowl (this is equal to the number of people attending the party.) Once all the gifts are under the tree, depending on the individual style (some roll 2 dice) to obtain the first picker. The person with the first number picks a gift and unwraps it, then, they reach into the bowl and pick another number, the person holding that number may either open and unopened gift under the tree, or “steal” a gift from another person who’s gift has already been opened. As mentioned above, a nice gift basket with coffees and teas, or chocolates and cookies would be ideal fro this game.

3- The shopping list

Christmas gift baskets are an ideal gift to send at Christmas to family, friends or co-workers. Christmas gift baskets come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of mixed good inside. You can even custom make your basket depending on the recipient’s preferences. The best part of Christmas gift baskets are they are available to suit any budget, which is one of the reasons why they are so popular this time of year.

Christmas gift baskets are also incredibly ideal because they travel well; if you have a grandmother in another province, ordering a gift basket online from a trusted site would provide easy gift giving without worrying about your gift getting damaged, as most online gift basket companies do the deliveries themselves, and guarantee the delivery.

4- A thank you gift

If you stay with relatives fro the Christmas festivities, a great thank you gift for their hospitality would be a nice gift basket, or a beautiful Christmas flower centerpiece. Among the popular trends in Christmas gift baskets are: cheese and crackers, mixed fruit jams, chocolates and cookies, coffees & teas, seafood and cheese…the possibilities are endless. In most situations, you could mix and match, have teas and chocolates, etc.