One day sold thousands of gladiolus
Ms. Nguyen Thi Phu's stall is located near one of the two main entrances to Quang Ba flower market. In the days leading up to Tet, in addition to mobilizing all the family's labor, Ms. Phu hired 4 more workers, 2 flower sellers, 2 flower shippers. Since the day after Ong Cong Ong Tao, Ms. Phu has sold tens of thousands of colorful gladiolus flowers every day.
“My family has a flower garden in Lien Mac (Bac Tu Liem, Hanoi), for the past 3 years we have only grown gladiolus. Since last year, I have imported more gladiolus from Hiep An flower village (Duc Trong district, Lam Dong) to sell. Luckily, in Lam Dong, I have a relative who helps me choose and pack the flowers, so the quality is guaranteed. From today until the afternoon of the 30th of Tet, I import 70,000-80,000 flowers every day, selling both wholesale and retail,” said Ms. Phu.
According to Ms. Phu, many years ago her family did not grow flowers but only traded them. Every Tet season, she selected about 10 types of flowers and imported them for sale. After that, she learned from experience not to carry many types of flowers but only chose a few "key" types. "There is no type of flower that is in high demand for many years. There are years when tulips are popular, years when cymbidiums are popular, years when double lilies are popular. I observed and found that if we stick to one type of product with stable quality, even if the price is a little higher, we still won't have to worry about it being unsaleable," Ms. Phu revealed.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh is also a vendor in Quang Ba market and only sells imported flowers. Her shop has imported roses, tulips, cherry blossoms, etc. in a variety of vibrant colors. Ms. Minh said that the customers who visit her stall are usually young people, while traditional domestic flowers such as gladiolus, dahlias, chrysanthemums, etc. attract middle-aged customers.
Affordable price
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Duong left Quang Ba flower market on the afternoon of the 27th of Tet with a car trunk full of flowers.
“I bought 100 white gladiolus, 5 bunches of asters, 2 bunches of double lilies, 3 bunches of imported roses, for a total of 2.9 million VND. I have enough flowers for my family, my parents-in-law, my parents, and to give to my friends. I find the prices this year cheaper than previous years, the flowers are fresh and beautiful, and there are many types to choose from. For example, lilies, there are large flowers, fat buds, priced at 700,000 VND/bunch/10 branches, the smaller ones are priced at only 400,000 VND. Imported roses are priced at 200,000 - 300,000 VND/bunch. Gladiolus has many beautiful flowers, about 1.4m tall, priced at about 200,000 VND/dozen; the type with fewer flowers, about 80cm tall, costs only about 70,000 VND/dozen. Overall, it is very easy to buy,” Ms. Duong said excitedly.
Ms. Le Thi Mui, who lives on Thai Ha Street (Dong Da, Hanoi) was taken to the market by her daughter to buy flowers. Ms. Mui walked around the market and chose 50 red gladiolus flowers to arrange and give to her in-laws.
“Beautiful flowers, big flowers, long stems, cost about 150,000 VND/dozen, if you buy a bunch of 50 flowers, the seller will give you a discount. As for dahlias, violets, and aster, the flowers are fresh, half the price compared to buying them at traditional markets or street vendors. I only see peach blossoms as the most expensive. I just asked for 2 small branches to put on the altar, the branches are about 40 cm high, none of them are under 150,000 VND. The seller said that due to storms, the peach crop failed, the price is high,” Ms. Mui shared.
