OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Ahead of Mother's Day weekend, local florists are hard at work preparing hundreds of arrangements but a 10% tariff on U.S. imports has some exploring ways to keep costs down.
- We spoke with Janousek Florist & Greenhouse and Everbloom.
- The owners at Janousek and Everbloom tell me they haven't increased prices yet, but it's something they are going to have to consider.
- Video shows florists busy at work making arrangements for Mother's Day.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Ahead of Mother's Day weekend, many of us might be looking for the perfect gift for Mom — a popular one? Flowers. But prices for a beautiful bouquet like this could soon go up, as tariffs threaten the floral market.
"Mother's Day is definitely, you know, the busiest time of the year for us,” said Eric Janousek, owner of Janousek Florist & Greenhouse.
"Not everybody has a romantic partner, but just about everybody has a mom,” said Vanessa Nkwocha, co-owner of Everbloom.
This week, florists at Janousek and Everbloom will put together hundreds of arrangements in preparation for Mother's Day.
While the domestic growing season is in bloom, over 80 percent of the flowers sold in the U.S. come from outside the country.
"I would say California and Ecuador and Holland are probably the three biggest places that we're sourcing things from currently,” said Nkwocha.
"A lot of them come from, like, Ecuador, South America — you know, some come from Canada as well,” said Janousek.
Right now, a 10% tariff is in place for all U.S. imports, and these florists have been warned about how it might affect business.
"What we have heard from vendors, like, in real time, is that the possibility for some of our containers would be a 15% increase,” said Nkwocha.
"The wholesalers, you know, definitely sent us a warning — you know, message — you know, prices will probably be going up here shortly,” said Janousek.
The owners at Janousek and Everbloom tell me they haven't increased prices yet, but it's something they are going to have to consider.
But increasing prices isn't the only option for florists. There are other strategies they are exploring in order to keep prices down as much as possible.
"Nothing has ever been a sure thing with floral. You know, if there is a hard and fast budget, then we'll just have to creatively reduce, like, a bloom-to-rate-to-foliage count or something,” said Nkwocha.
For now, they're staying optimistic but say customers could see prices go up in the next couple of months.
