The Japanese Flower Market

The Japanese Flower Market

Mrs. Kazuyo Asayama about the Japanese Flower Market.

Who are the decision makers in the Japanese flower market?
It starts with the agents of the breeders who have a great influence on the market. They decide on which varieties to be brought to the attention of growers.

Another group of people with a lot of influence are those at the Japanese auctions; they make a decision on which varieties consumers can buy at the shops. Unfortunately this group of influential persons is not always in touch with modern people, designers and trends. Their taste is perhaps somewhat too conservative for modern Japanese consumers.

For this reason, exhibitions and fairs are becoming more important in Japan. This is the place where new varieties are introduced to the industry for networking.

What are the needs of the Japanese designers, in terms of colours, head size, etc?
I think the colour always comes first. Especially for the top designers, unique colours are vital. Brown and black are frequently used in Japan. Thus all brown rose varieties are particularly popular. In addition, flowers of unique shapes are popular too. For example, garden roses, and domestic Clematis of small bell type are getting very popular.

In regards to the Japanese Market, of how much importance are transportability, vaselife and stem lengths of the various varieties introduced into the market?
Because of the easy handling, many florists in Japan ask for flowers in boxes, while it obviously would be better for the tenability and quality to preserve the flowers in buckets. Of course, a good vaselife is important, although the garden rose, with her short vaselife, is also popular at the moment.

For most consumers and at most occasions the stemlength is not important. We do not need very long stems; 60-70 cm is adequate. A long stem means a higher price. The Japanese florist and consumer prefer more stems in a bouquet rather than having flowers with long stems. I don’t expect this to change when the Japanese economy gets stronger.

What are the most important events and occasions that mark a highlight in the Japanese flowers business?
Traditionally, the Japanese use a lot of flowers for weddings, funerals and also Christmas and New Year which are important occasions in Japan. There are many events during Christmas-time and this may appear strange in a country like Japan, with very few Christian celebrations. I guess the Japanese like Christmas because we enjoy activities that come with it such as creating decorations and giving presents.

Dark red and white are our traditional celebration colours and we also use these colours a lot for weddings. The Schreurs variety Good Life!®, licensed by Zino Davidoff S.A. is a good example of our celebration-red. Chrysanthemums, Carnations and Roses are the three most favourite flowers during celebrations.

Can you tell us what new developments you see and expect in the Japanese market?
I hope Japanese people will experience the pleasure out of flowers in ordinary life as opposed to only during given occasions. I foresee a day when the Japanese people will make a habit of buying flowers for themselves and their families.

I expect one day the Japanese will emulate the Dutch and buy flowers on weekends for their houses, and feel the peace that is brought by the flowers. It does not have to be a sophisticated arrangement; we can even start with one stem.