Flowers Canada (Ontario) and T & T Supermarkets Create Pilot Project to Train Floral Department Staff
Guelph, ON – Flowers Canada (Ontario) Inc. (FCO) is very pleased and excited to be working with Foodland Ontario and T & T Supermarkets to create a pilot project geared towards the transfer of knowledge to front line staff on the care and handling of fresh cut and potted flowers. The collaboration between FCO and Foodland Ontario is in support of FCO’s Project “Educate The Retailers.”
The first training session of the pilot project was held on September 26th at T & T Supermarket’s Scarborough location with over 22 front line store managers in attendance. The training was provided by Inta Taurins and Patricia Patrick of CAFFA and focused on plant care and floral presentation. Store representatives were provided with information on creating prominent displays to make flowers more appealing to consumers with the goal of increasing sales of floral products. Related instructive materials were prepared and provided to all of the attendees. As well, a training video was made on site that will be critiqued and edited working towards a final product that can be provided to retailers to share with their staff.
The overall goal of this project is to work directly with the retailers to develop seminars and materials that will give the front line personnel (current and future) the knowledge needed to set up attractive displays and keep the floral products healthy. The information provided will increase the retail staff’s ability to satisfy their customers and in turn, sell more flowers.
Merging with Loblaws Companies Limited in 2009, T & T Supermarkets have been in Canada for over 10 years and hold freshness and customer satisfaction as the two anchor-stones of their operation. “Because focusing on quality, innovation and on-going improvement is so important to our business, this collaboration with FCO is an excellent fit for our organization”, commented Michael Huang, T & T’s Floral Director.
Project leader and FCO’s Marketing Director Nikki Gomes commented: “This simple training concept has the ability to add great value to both the floriculture sector and the retail chains. Once all of the resource material is completed, it will be made available online to allow retail chains stores and florists across Canada to have access to train their staff on floral care and the creation of appealing displays. Effective training will be just a click away and at no cost to the retailer.”
Funding for this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) and delivered by the Agriculture Adaptation Council.
Flowers Canada (Ontario) Inc. is the provincial trade and professional association of the Ontario floral industry serving the floriculture sector and its Members, greenhouse floriculture producers, for over 40 years. FCO’s mission is to enhance the profitability and competitiveness of Ontario’s floriculture sector by helping growers address common issues. FCO strives to help growers find solutions in trade, plant bio-security, research and innovation, human resources, environment, marketing and risk management.
For more information on FCO please visit www.flowerscanadagrowers.com. You can also contact the office directly by calling 1-800-698-0113 or emailing flowers@fco.ca.
