Lianhe Zaobao Interview 联合早报

【梦想“企”飞系列】看准线上商机 鲜花生意万紫千红

来自 / 联合早报 | 文 / 周岳翔 | 摄影 / 龙国雄 | 剪辑 / 刘力智 | 动画 / 陈乐彤, 何健伟
摄像 / 罗文彪, 陈重仁 | 编导 / 许淑美, 刘永健

发布 / 2021年1月28日 3:30 AM

国内市场规模小，科技进步飞速冲击业务模式，本地中小企业面对了双重挑战。
如何在应对科技颠覆的同时，开拓海外市场？如何确保自己的业务模式跟上时代以及客户的步伐？
“梦想企飞”系列带你了解四家本地中小企业如何不断创新克服这些挑战

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早在20年前，本地鲜花零售商花速（Xpressflower）便已洞悉网络商机，及早布局线上销售，因此不仅在竞争激烈的本地市场占有一席之地，更成功抵御冠病疫情的冲击。

我国去年4月实施长达八周的阻断措施严重拖累本地零售业者，花速创办人兼董事经理苏毅豪（56岁）坦言，“起初真不知道该怎么办，多亏了网络生意。”

每当佳节来临，客户送花需求庞大，去年母亲节也不例外。花速在全岛设有19家分店，冠病疫情让苏毅豪入行25年以来，首次无法开店做生意。不过，线上订购却为公司带来源源不绝订单，生意不减，反而暴增三倍。

他接受《联合早报》访问时透露，花速不仅经营自己网站，也入驻各大电商平台，例如Grabmart、Lazada和Shopee等。由于疫情关系，公司在病毒阻断措施期间仅能安排少于五分之一的员工上班，因此大伙疲于应付网上订单。

不过，公司趁疫情期间调整业务，花上更多精力与时间去进行筹划工作。例如，在母亲节推出了30种花束及礼物包装设计，让顾客在网上就能选购自己心仪的花束。公司更注重改善客户体验，当送花到指定地点后会拍照给客户查看。

为了花速长远发展，苏毅豪大胆开拓商业版图，2016年积极进军海外市场，以菲律宾首都马尼拉作为第一站。

他在马尼拉开设三间实体店，看中当地市场具有无限发展潜能，“其实我们一开始到马尼拉时，只是想先从网络商店做起，刚好当时我们找到的地点挺适合做零售的，所以就把网店和实体店融合在一起。”

他注意到，菲律宾人在正式购物之前，会花很多时间在社交媒体上浏览商品评价及货比三家。

“如果你在马尼拉买花，会发现他们对花的储存管理跟新加坡很不同，多数花店都把花放在室温环境，多少会影响花的素质。我们在马尼拉的店，跟在新加坡一样，会把花放在冷藏室，制造一个适合花的环境。”

苏毅豪曾多次参加企发局率领的海外考察团，在一次机缘巧合下，认识了新加坡Astreem Consulting顾问，并在对方的穿针引线下，结识了菲律宾商场集团业者Ayala Malls。

“Ayala Malls在这里很大，算是个家喻户晓的商场集团。我希望凭着这家店，能让更多人认识我们的品牌。”

除了积极拓展网络生意之外，苏毅豪在这之前也重视扩展实体店，“零售环境一直在变，不能纯粹开店卖花，我于是想到了一个三合一的概念。”

扩展实体店集合餐饮和零售

2016年，他在巴耶利峇路上开设Knots Cafe and Living，是一间售卖鲜花与家具的综合主题咖啡馆，让顾客在用餐之余，也能买花、家具和居家装饰品等。“我发现做零售一定要不断突破，去创造潮流，所以决定结合餐饮和零售的概念。”

咖啡馆在病毒阻断措施期间无法开门做生意，改以订餐外卖为主，不过随着我国去年6月进入解封第二阶段及允许堂食后，生意也逐渐恢复，去年首九个月营业额仅同比下滑8％。如今，我国已迈入解封第三阶段，本地疫情也受控，苏毅豪坦言零售业尽管已无法恢复至疫情暴发之前情况，但他还是持乐观态度，今年将乘胜追击，在西部地区开设多一间Knots Cafe and Living。

前年12月，苏毅豪把综合主题咖啡馆的概念引进菲律宾，在购物商场Ayala Malls Manila Bay开设咖啡店Knots Flowers and More。

虽然冠病疫情也严重冲击菲律宾生意，咖啡馆暂时还无法恢复正常营业，但苏毅豪对海外市场前景表示乐观。他接下来计划进行转出口生意，把从南美洲和非洲进口到新加坡的花，转出口到菲律宾和其他市场。

此外，花速今年再度获得迪士尼公司授权，可使用迪士尼卡通人物进行插花设计的公司，这大大提升公司市场的竞争力。

从小与花卉结下不解之缘

从小就与花卉结下不解之缘的苏毅豪，家中有10个兄弟姐妹，他排行第九，其中四个姐姐曾摆摊卖花，年纪小小的他便随着姐姐到各个住宅区协助卖花，但他从来没想过长大后也经营花店，而且还进军海外市场。

苏毅豪大学毕业后，曾先后在塑料业和印刷业从事行销工作，原本是想了解印刷公司的运作方式，然后自己开印刷公司当老板，然而却在一次机缘巧合之下，发现干花生意有利可图，“我到澳洲出差时在机上阅读杂志时接触到澳洲干花，这些干花在日本大卖，便决定带进新加坡试试看。当时我白天在印刷公司上班，晚上卖花，这样做了两三年。”

他花了约2000美元订了20箱干花，由一名姐姐在家里帮忙插花做造型，再送到乌节路一家商场的短期摊位摆卖。由于碰上圣诞节，结果获得市场不俗回响，让他萌起转行从事花卉生意的念头，1995年便成立Aussie Blooms公司。为了扩大客源，让收入更加稳定，更从澳洲订购大量干花批发给花店。公司小规模运作以维持较低成本，加上干花销路好，第一年便取得2万5000元的收入。

然而，好景不长，当干花在市场逐渐遇冷，苏毅豪没有因此坐以待毙，改做鲜花生意，2001年开设网络商店Xpressflower.com，并提供24小时候送花服务，“小生意要跟人竞争，应该有与众不同的卖点。”

Read more...
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/zfinance/sme/ story20210128-1119332

Knots cafe & living
(by Xpressflower.com)

The ultimate guide to Tai Seng
There's more to the industrial hood of Tai Seng than meets the eye
by lliyas Ong and Fabian Loo / Timeout.com / 9 Oct 2020 

Read more...
https://www.timeout.com/singapore/things-to-do/the-ultimate-guide-to-tai-seng

Knots cafe & living
(by Xpressflower.com)

Paya Lebar garden-themed cafe sells flowers, furniture & food like parma ham pizza & waffles 

by Fasiha Nazren / Mothership.sg / 30 September 2020 

If you like furniture and plant shopping as much as you love coffee, you may want to give this cafe a visit.  Knots Cafe and Living is a cafe located in Paya Lebar that also sells furniture and plants.

Garden-themed cafe

At first glance, one would notice the garden theme and lush greenery.

And it's pretty apt since the cafe is owned by Soh Yee How, who also owns local florist chain Xpressflower.com.

Read more...
https://mothership.sg/2020/09/knots-cafe-paya-lebar/

Knots cafe & living
(by Xpressflower.com)

This Garden Cafe In S’pore With Lush Green Interior Is Perfect For Weekend Brunch

by Thexeilia Yeap / Singaporefoodie.sg / 29 September 2020 

There’s nothing like sipping on a cup of coffee and pairing it with a really good brunch. A chill weekend would be starting off the day with brunch and continuing it by chilling at a cafe. While there are plenty of cafes scattered everywhere in S’pore, today we’ll be focusing on Knots Cafe and Living. Whenever you’re ready to find out more, just start scrolling!

Knots Cafe And Living, A Unique Cafe In S’pore With Potted Plants Interior

Read more...
https://singaporefoodie.com/knots-cafe-and-living-singapore/

Knots cafe & living
(by Xpressflower.com)

13 Tropical Cafes In Singapore That’ll Make You Feel Like You’re In Bali

by Farisia Thang / womenweekly.com.sg / 15 September 2020 

Read more...
https://bit.ly/39szmuL

Xpressflower.com | Grab

Read our lovely feature here !

Multinational ride-hailing giant Grab Holdings has launched GrabMart, a delivery service across 50 cities, in partnership with over 3000 supermarkets and convenience stores. Previously available in just Indonesia and Thailand, Grab has now launched in eight countries – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia, its latest addition.  

This service provides consumers convenience in purchasing various consumer goods, including groceries, home essentials, health and beauty items and gifts during the ongoing pandemic. In a statement to Marketing, Grab said “consumers will now be able to have their items delivered in under an hour or at a scheduled time.” Its most popular items by category were beverages, snacks, vegetables, pantry supplies and instant noodles.

GrabMart has partnered with multiple store chains in various countries, including FamilyMart in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, Cheers and Fairprice Xpress in Singapore, myNews.com in Malaysia as well as Lawson in the Philippines. It has also built a supply chain with popular supermarkets and hypermarkets such as Tops and Maxvalu in Thailand, Big C in Vietnam and Robinsons Supermarket in the Philippines. In Singapore and Indonesia, consumers can order fresh produce and premium meats from urban farmers and local suppliers.

Lastly, GrabMart has also partnered with various specialty and mini-market stores such as Guardian in Indonesia and Malaysia, and XpressFlower in Singapore. This partnership has led to GrabMart deliveries in Singapore increasing by seven times on Mothers’ Day last month.  In addition, GrabMart has also partnered with nine traditional market operators selling fresh produce and various perishable goods in Indonesia and Malaysia, bringing hundreds of tenants online. Consumers will be able to buy an assortment of produce from numerous traditional market stalls in a single purchase for delivery under this service.

Demi Yu, regional head of GrabFood and GrabMart said COVID-19 has accelerated the adoption of on-demand delivery services across Southeast Asia, allowing Grab to “tap on existing technologies, its extensive delivery network, and operational footprint to quickly scale GrabMart across the region. In a post-COVID-19 normal, we anticipate demand for delivery services to remain elevated. We will continue to double down on expanding our GrabMart service to support consumers’ shopping needs.”

Read more...
https://www.marketing-interactive.com/grab-expands-business-with-additional-services-across-sea

By Spot.ph

7 February 2020

Read our lovely feature in Spot.ph (Philippines)!
   

Did you know we're also available in Manila, Philippines?
If you are in Philippines, check out Knots.ph, we have 3 outlets in Metro Manila!

Knots cafe & living
(by Xpressflower.com)

6 Cafes in Tai Seng if you are sick of coffeeshop food for lunch
by ladyironchef.com / 12 August 2019 

The perfect oasis from the hustle (and heat) of the surrounding industrial buildings, Knots Cafe & Living is a furniture store and cafe all in one. Wooden furniture, flowers and an assortment of plants are strewn all over the cafe and the natural light that enters make for pretty gorgeous photos too.

The food options here are relatively straightforward and nothing too far off from your typical cafe fare. Think waffles, cakes and sandwiches on weekdays and full-on brunch delights such as Eggs Benedict on weekends to get you well sorted before a spot of furniture shopping.

Read more...
https://www.ladyironchef.com/2019/08/tai-seng-cafes-guide/

Knots cafe & living

(by Xpressflower.com)

This S'porean Made Flowers, Furniture And Food A  Flower-ful Combo With $6.7M Revenue In 2018!
By Alanna Tan / Vulcan Post / 24 May 2019

Read our lovely feature here !

A bunch of thoughtfully arranged blooms is an age-old way to say “thank you”, or “I love you”.

With an abundance of new-age florists sprouting into the scene, bringing fresh trends like budget-friendly bouquets, everlasting roses and flower-sharing for weddings, Singaporeans have more options now than ever.

But even as the industry changes, local pioneers find ways to keep their roots strong.

Last year, we interviewed the second-gen owner of one of Singapore’s oldest florists, Far East Flora, who shared about how they strengthened up over the years with digitisation.

Another company Singaporeans will be familiar with is Xpressflower.com, which was also a first-mover into e-commerce, as their name suggests.

Although they now have a chain of 18 stores and a café concept in Singapore, and even send bouquets across the globe, their founder Joseph Soh hadn’t wanted to sell flowers at first.

We had a chat with him to find out how he arrived at where he is today.

Learning The Ropes From His Sisters

Joseph grew up in a family of 10 siblings, of which he was the second youngest. For parents to raise such large families in those days, they weren’t able to send their children through a full regime of education which is the norm for us now, and many of Joseph’s siblings started their own businesses out of necessity. So when some of his older sisters started running a flower stall, he tagged along at just 10-years-old.

As a kid, I was just kaypoh to go and help out. My sisters’ shop was at Redhill, but during Chinese New Year they took a temporary stall at Chinatown, and I went to help for that period.Those were the days he experienced selling flowers out of the back of a van, and running away when the “di gu” (police) came.

Years later, his sisters took a change of route into the printing industry and he continued helping them during school holidays. As he noticed they were “more successful” in that venture, Joseph began to develop an ambition to start his own printing business.

He first started off as an employee in a Japanese printing firm after graduating, followed by joining Singapore National Printers.

“I was in the trade for about 5 years,” Joseph tells us.

While he was working to gain knowledge and open his own company one day, he never thought he would be returning to flowers.

But fate would have it this way—and all it took was one article in a magazine that Joseph browsed on his flight during a business trip to Australia.

“[I was reading] about how the export of dried Australian wild flowers was booming in Japan.”

“In my mind [I started thinking]: If it goes to Japan, it will come along to the ‘Four Tigers of Asia’, which are South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore,” he recalls.

Wasting no time to jump on the opportunity, Joseph took a 2-hour drive out of Melbourne to meet with farmers, and kickstarted his first step into entrepreneurship by importing dried flowers in 1995.

Pick The Battles You Can Fight

As a crucial key in his journey, Joseph also shares that his decision to strike out on his own was impacted by an awakening push he faced in the army.

To be frank, I didn’t come from a family that is rich. My dad raised ten of us by being a bus conductor. He was the person who used to issue tickets to passengers [before ezlink cards came about].

“There was no such thing as tuition, so at whatever level of studies I could reach, I would just go to work from there,” he says.

For that reason, he considers himself “lucky” that he did well enough to get into university, and likewise climb the ranks to become an officer in his NS days.

For Joseph, it was “a really big eye-opener” to find himself among peers “from the top junior colleges in Singapore” when he went through the officer cadets’ course.

He recounts how they went through a gruelling regime that had them sleeping at midnight, reporting for ‘turn outs’ at 2am, rising for breakfast and physical training at 5.30am, while still having to attend lectures at 7.30am daily.

“You can imagine what happens during the lectures—everybody was sleeping. But the other guys would still score distinctions, while I nearly failed,” he says.

Since then, Joseph realised he couldn’t compete by going neck and neck to vie for positions in banks and MNCs, with others who would be graduating into the job market alongside him.

Because of that, I decided that wherever I’m going, I’m not going to walk the same path [as others]. I have to, in a way, carve out my own direction.

Building His Own Walls

After supplying his imports to local florists for some time, Joseph was encouraged to give retail a try.

However, he soon realised selling dried flowers alone wouldn’t make much in Singapore’s small market, and decided he had to bring in fresh flowers too.

He secured his first retail store when the landlord at Century Square offered him a “very tiny space”, he tells us while gesturing to the area that roughly one group-seating table now occupies at his café.

While I thought that was a humble beginning, Joseph’s first office was even more so.

He had to quite literally build his business, by putting up a formation of metal racks to prevent the air conditioning from escaping in the first space he could rent.

But challenging times didn’t give him hazy vision. Back in 2001, he recognised the huge role the internet would play in the future, and set up Xpressflower.com as an online business.

Unlike the way e-commerce thrives today, having an online shop wasn’t an obvious choice at the time.

In those days, nobody buys online. It was like trying to set up a business at the graveyard—nobody goes there.

Joseph also focused just as much on building brick-and-mortar stores, as he believes an actual visit to the florist should feel as personal as a trip to your trusted hairdresser.

Having scaled up so much since then, he admits it’s an even bigger challenge now to “balance between creativity and uniformity” as Xpressflower expands.

Now, the business is vastly different than before.

Besides having two spacious office units with cold rooms to hold new imported flowers, they also clinched an exclusive license to produce designs with Disney characters.

On top of that, they’re a member of InterFlora, an organisation that selects florists of high standard to fulfil international orders.

Xpressflower.com sowed its seeds in the Philippines with its first branch in Manila two years ago, as they plan for further expansion into Indonesia next.

In 2018, the company raked up about $6.7 million in revenue.

Through all of this, Joseph credits his involvement in flower importing for giving his business more resources to gain an edge over its competitors.

Flowers, Food And Furniture

Taking on unfamiliar challenges continued to be a pattern for Joseph, which led him to add F&B and furniture into his repertoire in 2016.

These new verticals came into play as he was inspired by the way florists in Hong Kong made do with limited space in their tight little shophouses.

When I walked [into a café in Hong Kong], I saw there were plants on the right, a girl arranging flowers on the left, and I could smell coffee in the air.

To replicate the idea at a larger scale, he bought an entire 2,600 sq ft warehouse unit “for a record price of $4 million”, where he created Knots Café and Living.

At a glance, the collection of furniture, decorations and flowers look like they were added to build the café’s warm, homely ambience—but in fact, these all can be purchased too.

While Joseph had some connections in the furniture trade that helped him get started with his curation, he was close to clueless heading into F&B.

Still, he went through as much coffee tasting as he could manage, and even learnt to brew it himself back when he had to support his first hired chef.

For a period of time, there was only one qualified chef in the kitchen, while Joseph and a marketing manager from Xpressflower scrambled to learn any cooking they could to cover the bases.

Now that he has a crew with the proper expertise on board to serve up delectable dishes, Knots draws in a decent lunchtime crowd of working professionals in the area.

Beyond reaping his successes, Joseph also believes in running a business that gives back to society.

If diners may notice there are special needs workers among the crew at Knots, this has actually been a practice that started years back in Xpressflower, to provide jobs for ex-convicts and people with disabilities.

Read more...
https://vulcanpost.com/659317/xpressflower-knots-cafe-and-living-singapore/

Lianhe Zaobao Interview 联合早报

27 June, 2019

深夜送花延续日常甜蜜

如果说到了哪些行业深夜还在做生意，必定会想到餐馆、酒吧，或提供紧急服务的诊所等。然而，新加坡是一座不夜城，国人到了深夜仍有诸多消费需求，不少商家看准这个商机并实行全天营业制。中小企业专版这一次推出在深夜经营业务的主题系列，让四名企业家分享送花、健身、宠物店，以及洗衣服务如何满足客户需求并开创商机。想在午夜12时正为女友献上鲜花祝她生日快乐，或要赶在已故朋友出殡前送上花圈致哀，24小时营业的花速（Xpressflower）公司都能办到，这也是公司的竞争优势。创办人兼董事经理苏毅豪认为，要在竞争激烈的商界中立足，就要以独特的服务取胜，而且要时刻留意市场变化，适时调整业务模式，生意才能越做越好。

经营花卉生意24年的苏毅豪（55岁）从小就与花卉结下不解之缘。他父母育有10个孩子，他排行第九，其中四个姐姐曾摆摊卖花，年纪小小的他便随着姐姐到各个住宅区协助卖花，但他从来没想过长大后也经营花店，而且还进军海外市场。他大学毕业后，曾先后在塑料业和印刷业从事行销工作，他原本是想了解印刷公司的运作方式，然后自己开印刷公司当老板，可是在一次机缘巧合之下，他却做起了干花生意。

放弃印刷本业投身花卉生意

他接受《联合早报》访问时说：“当时我到澳大利亚公干，在一本杂志读到澳洲干燥野花输往日本的出口生意火热，我就在想，这股热潮也一定会吹到亚洲四小龙，所以我就到杂志列出来的出口商了解详情。” 当时他花了大约2000美元订了20箱干花，还请一位姐姐在家里帮忙插花做造型，再送到乌节路一家商场的短期摊位摆卖。当时刚好遇上圣诞节，干花热销，让他萌起改做花卉生意的念头。 “我当时白天在印刷公司上班，晚上则要照顾花摊的生意。在印刷公司工作五年，发现这门生意需要投入很多资金买印刷机，市场竞争也很强，利润不高。最后我决定辞掉工作，专心经营花卉生意。”

1995年，苏毅豪的大儿子刚出生，他却放弃印刷公司的稳定工作，成立Aussie Blooms公司。为了扩大客源，让收入更加稳定，他从澳洲订购大量干花批发给花店。由于当时是小规模运作，成本较低，还能压低售价，加上干花的销路好，公司成立第一年便取得2万5000元的收入。“我开着载满花的货车拜访花商，能一次过卖掉500朵花，卖完我就到货仓取货，再去见花商。如果聘请销售员，他们会只带着样品去，还要另外派送货员送货。创业初期的成本低，较容易成功，但要在不同的生意发展阶段，采取不同策略。”

进入2000年之后，本地掀起日本“禅”（zen）式的简约设计风格，不仅居家装潢采用淡雅单一的色调，就连花卉摆设也受影响。日式插花强调意境，一支花，一片叶就能完成，可是干花插花却得由多种不同干花组成，繁杂的造型已不符合潮流。苏毅豪说：“新加坡很潮湿，干花几个月后就发霉。当时只有三家公司卖干花，其中一家倒闭，从那时起我决定售卖鲜花。 ”

顺应潮流开拓网购营运

新加坡处处是鲜花店，要如何吸引消费者上门是个不小的学问，苏毅豪必须为公司创造优势，于是推出24小时送花服务。他也发现互联网能为商家和消费者带来许多便利，未来能开启更多商机。2001年，在许多人还不清楚什么是互联网的时候，他便设立了销售网站让消费者上网订花，可是网站经营初期，销量并不理想。“感觉像是在坟场开店一样，没人上网搜寻订购服务。我开始在雅虎搜寻网站上登广告做宣传，也换了负责管理网站的公司，这次我不愿意定期付费，而是只支付网站的设计费用，若接到订单，就把收益的两成支付给网站公司。” 这个方法大大节省了设网站的开支，而随着广告开始奏效，网络订单渐渐好转, 有了网站就能接受深夜订单，在深夜或凌晨送货。

 “深夜订花的人不多，这类订单占了大约订单总量的1％至2％。尽管如此，我很肯定深夜订花的需求是存在的，问题是没有供应，消费者根本无法订购，这类需求也就没有浮现出来。” 为了能及时回复顾客的询问，公司客户服务中心的营业时间从早上6时开始，晚上10时结束。除了接听热线电话，也通过网站的聊天功能即时回答消费者询问，提供快速的优质服务。虽然这会增加人力成本，但苏毅豪认为，这是一种投资。

 “网络科技的好处就是，不论身在何地，消费者都能通过网站联系。这里虽然是晚上，但在另一个国家是白天，我就能接受外国订单。你想想，有多少新加坡人的孩子在美国、英国和澳洲念书？有多少来自这三个国家的人在新加坡工作？” 身在外国的消费者可以通过网站订花送给在新加坡的亲友，这并不是所有花商能提供的服务。

 花速公司发展至今，在新加坡有18家零售店和一家同时销售花卉、家具和餐饮的Knots咖啡座。在菲律宾马尼拉则有两家花店和一家咖啡座。公司获得迪士尼公司授权，是东南亚唯一可使用迪士尼卡通人物进行插花设计的公司，希望能借此敲开菲律宾和印度尼西亚的市场大门。