Success blooms in Kalidades

CEBU, Philippines -  “I wanted that once they think of giving gifts to loved ones, they would think of Kalidades.”

This is according to Angeli Lim, the 26-year old owner of Kalidades House of Flowers, who took over the flower business in 2008 from the original owner who was a friend’s mother when the latter chose to sell the business.

She cited that she has poured much investment by the time they took over, bought the business rights and decided to retain the name.

The flower shop deals with the demands of its corporate clients and walk-in buyers during birthdays, special occasions, store openings, events, and funerals.

Lim said that Kalidades further encompasses love and romance since they have regular clients who seek help from them what gifts to buy during courtships, break-ups, anniversaries and engagements.

“It just happened that I am a hopeless romantic by heart. I feel for guys who don’t know how to please their girls. I often watch romantic movies and apply them in my business,” she continued.

She clarified, however, that they do not cater to weddings anymore since the occasion requires much attention and time, making it harder for her to handle such given the responsibilities as a part-time mom of two kids and a hands-on entrepreneur.

As part of innovation, she also introduced add-ons to their product line which includes imported stuffed toys, wrappers, balloons, chocolates, cupcakes, sweets and sashes with computerized print.

She noted that her products are cheaper than other packages from existing players with P100 to P200 as price difference.

A dozen of roses costs P850 while balloons cost more or less than P250 while stuffed toys are priced at P450 to P1500.

Apart from its regular clients who are mostly from the high-end market, the small-scale business also caters to customers outside Cebu City and even out of the country through online and phone call orders.

She cited that the monthly gross sales of the business could be estimated from P200,000 to P400,000 for both peak and non-peak seasons.

Peak seasons are during the months of February and November.

Serving its own market niche, Kalidades boasts of its sophisticated and personalized arrangement of the freshest flowers, value for money, personal touch and right blend of colors of which the concept and design are from the owner herself.

“I always make sure the flowers we give to our clients are specifically arranged for their needs. With their high expectations, we make sure they are satisfied.  In everything that has to do with flowers, you have to be different,” Lim said, who described herself as a “meticulous” owner.

Since the life span of flowers run from 1 to 2 weeks, she said that they don’t keep much flowers in the store and order them from their local suppliers based on the scheduled demands of clients to assure the freshness of flowers.

Since she doesn’t want to stay at home doing nothing, she said that Kalidades actually reflects her personality as an individual with the kind of business she is into.

She further encouraged women to work, establish their own career and have an alternative source of income.

Struggles in the flower business that she cited include natural calamities and disasters and Kalidades being misconstrued as a flower shop catering to weddings.

For four years in the business, Lim proudly presented the awards gained by Kalidades such as the Flower Shop of the Year and Hall of Famer for three consecutive years in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and Outstanding Young Cebuano Entrepreneurs in 2012.

As one of the leaders in the flower industry, she noted that the most rewarding achievement for them is the sense of fulfillment being able to help their clients who extend their gratitude with the positive turn-out of flowers as their gifts.

“I did not realize that this is what I wanted to do until I was already in this business. It feels like you spread love and happiness through flowers. It felt good making people happy and I enjoy what I’m doing,” Lim concluded.

She currently has 2 florists and 3 receptionists.

At present, Kalidades has only one outlet situated at Manros Plaza, General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City and will soon have another branch in Mandaue as Lim revealed during the interview. (FREEMAN)