Valentine’s Day meets CNY: Sibu florists see surge in flower sales

SIBU (Feb 14): There was a surge in flower purchases today, and not only for Valentine’s Day.

The ‘day of love’ coincided with the lead-up to Chinese New Year, creating one of the busiest periods for local vendors this festive season.

A survey on several florists across town in the morning could see steady foot traffic, with customers making last-minute purchases of roses and other fresh arrangements for Valentine’s Day.

At Lieng Tee Flower Shop, the owner – who introduced herself only as ‘Pauline’ – said demand had increased significantly compared to those observed in normal days, with customers buying both fresh and artificial flowers.

“We sell all kinds of flowers, fresh and artificial. Roses and pom-pom blooms are always popular.

“Normally, we are not so busy, but today, there are definitely more customers,” she said.

Pauline, whose family has been operating the shop for more than three decades, said they had maintained affordable pricing out of respect for the long-time regular customers.

“We don’t charge a lot.

“Most of our bouquets are between RM8 and RM9 each, and today, I only sell 11.

“Everyone is struggling, but as long as I don’t make losses, that’s enough.

“Our customers know we give good value,” she said.

Pauline noted that the younger customers often preferred modern, decorative bouquet styles, while the older ones still favoured the more traditional arrangements.

At Li Florist, the shop owner known only as ‘Koh’, said roses remained the top choice for Valentine’s Day.

“Everything is fresh flower. Only for Chinese New Year do customers buy the plastic ones,” she disclosed.

Preparations for the celebration began early at her shop.

“Every day, we are ready, but for big events like this, we start one week earlier.

“You can see for yourself how busy it is today,” she said, adding that sales this year were slightly higher than last year.

Meanwhile, a Meet Florist’s representative, who stated her name only as ‘Quenna’, said their workload had doubled because of the Valentine’s Day-Chinese New Year overlap.

“It is very busy. Our orders double during this period.

“All our workers are moving non-stop; we’d have to work until late night,” said Quenna.

She said most buyers were returning customers who would usually request familiar bouquet designs.

“This makes the preparation more efficient.

“Our Valentine’s Day preparations begin as early as a month in advance, and include fresh flower arrangements and ‘money’ bouquets, which require careful folding.

“Compared to last year, this year we have better sales,” added Quenna.