Florists & Wedding Retailers

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

The following dates are public holidays:

Thursday 25th December, 2008
Friday 26th December, 2008
Thursday 1st January, 2008

Florist & Wedding Retailers are now represented even more directly within The Retailers Association with a dedicated Committee and Chapter, focused on their sector specific interests and requirements.

Welcome to the specialist Florists & Wedding Retailers Info Section and Members Entry Portal. This specialist section of our Association is dedicated to members who own independent FLORISTS and all other retailers dedicated to the WEDDING INDUSTRY.

If you are a member of The Retailers Association and require access to wages sheets for your sector, information sheets on important issues that impact your business, or the latest rules and laws that you need to be aware of, you can simply click on the red MEMBER SIGN IN button at the left of the screen and enter your member number and password. If you have not requested a password before, simply call our reception on 1300 721 730 and we can issue you with one so that you have 24/7 access to information critical to your business.

The Retailers Association has many members in the Florists & Wedding Retailers sector who enjoy our advice, support and guidance everyday. This is your entry point to greater support for your specialist retail sector. Check back regularly for comments, updates and info on issues impacting your sector.

SOME RECENT ISSUES IN THE FLORISTS & WEDDING RETAIL SECTOR:

• Drought has certainly had a big impact on seasonal flowers and their availability, as has the cost of fuel on transport from supplier to the retailer. The Retailers Association has been lobbying government for greater levels of drought relief for producers to offset costs and for greater subsidies on diesel to reduce the impact of transport costs on retailers.

• The sector has experienced a strong influx of competition from major retail chainstores attempting to under cut on price, quality and services. The Retailers Association continues to advise and support members in ways that allowed smaller independents to compete head to head with the major chains. In a recent member survey, some of the key issues that were identified as areas The Retailers Association can assist members in the Florist & Wedding Retail sector is via our industrial advice and support telephone service, our wages updates, and our regular E-Bulletins that members receive giving general industry tips and outline current trends and events. Also highlighted as valuable was our special reduced merchant fee deals, specialist business insurance products which we provide at highly competitive rates to our members.

• Staff training and professional development is also critical to maintain a competitive edge in the Florist & Wedding Retail sector. The Retailers Association provides members with tailored and recognised training cources and traineeships for staff to attract and retain the best and help your business grow.