BLOOMEX LAUNCHES NEW FUNERAL PRODUCTS

OTTAWA, July 2008 - Bloomex, the fastest growing online florist in Canada, has redesigned its funeral arrangement and products for a fresh new spin to depict the universal changing of opinions when it comes to selection of funeral products.

Bloomex Creative Design team has been studying 2008 trends in the market, and has released a fresh bold selection of funeral arrangements.

“The growing change in attitude towards funerals has given us new ideas of how we can design funeral arrangements that celebrate the life of someone departed, and as society changes, we are changing with them to meet their needs, “ says Jeff Godfrey, Marketing Manager for Bloomex. “The loss of a loved one is definitely tragic in that they are departed from our Earth, but they are not departed from our memories and hearts. More and more people are celebrating the life of a recently departed, and thus want colours, scents and flowers to portray joy, celebration and festivities of times shared with that special someone.”

The new arrangements come in a variety of intense colours, and mixtures of various traditional flowers, flattered with tasteful exotic flowers. We have taken the all-time favourites, such as roses and used softer brilliant colours such as pink, purple, coral, and yellow. We incorporated more striking colourful flowers such as delphiniums, lilies, gladiolus and asters, to mix and compliment the traditional carnations and roses, creating a magnificent masterpiece of fragrances illustrating the joy and commemoration of a special person that will be dearly missed and forever remembered.

Bloomex Management realizes that not all generations share this new concept of funerals arrangements, in which we have continued to offer our traditional funeral products. These collections are just as beautiful and elegant as the modern ones, however they concentrate on less vibrant colourful flowers, generally using red, white, soft hues of purple and yellow. The conventional flowers such as carnations and roses are still the popular favourites among the traditional funeral arrangements.

As well as initiating new vibrant colours to our new funeral products, we have also implemented unique inventive designs not offered in the past. Included in these new products and collections are casket sprays of vibrantly luscious Gerberas daisies, standing wreaths in both traditional colours, and festive exciting colours and flowers. Bloomex offers an array of modern, contemporary, and remarkable funeral arrangements that cater to your preferences and needs, and to top it off, we also provide customer orders.

CANADIAN ONLINE FLOWER COMPANY TAKES COMPLAINTS SERIOUSLY


OTTAWA, June, 2008 - Bloomex, the fastest growing online florist in Canada, has come together with Ellen Roseman of the Toronto Star. This encounter came about after several customer complaints were published on Ellen Roseman’s blog site, which had imprecision of Bloomex policies and procedures.

Mrs. Roseman, who describes herself as an advocator for consumer issues, positions herself on the side of the consumer to battle alongside annoyed, testy and disgruntled consumers in their dealings with big companies. Her blog site is just that, a place for discontented consumers to voice their experiences, and deter others from dealing with certain corporations.

The owner and President of Bloomex, Dimitri Lokhonia, met personally with Ellen Roseman to give clarification, and resolve some of the misapprehension of Bloomex policies. Mr. Lokhonia admits that there have been mistakes in the past, and in an effort to correct these issues, we implemented a new system that will allow customers to get answers to their questions almost immediately. “We could not possibly predict the enormous growth of Bloomex, especially in the past year”, says Dimitri Lokhonia. “We realized we needed a more interactive, customer centric system that is easily available, and understandable to our customers, which is why we created these two new systems”

Bloomex, a national Canadian online floral company, offering various floral and gift arrangements throughout Canada and the U.S. via its online computerized system. Since it’s inauguration in January 2006, Bloomex has grown to an exponential growth rate of 200%. The magnitude of its success was unpredictable, and in the light of this development, Bloomex Management implemented new systems to properly deal with the quantity of orders being placed, designed and shipped.

With the initial installation stages now complete, Bloomex was pleased to announce the implementation a state-of-the-art customer service system in order to keep pace with the company's dynamic growth. This new approach to customer service will dramatically reduce hold times, eliminate the need for customers to repeat information after arriving at a live customer care representative and even allow customers to chat live with a service agent, resolving their issues faster and more conveniently. In addition to this ultra-modern customer service system that has received optimistic reviews, a new tracking system will work in conjunction and hold all our employees accountable. Bloomex anticipates this new tracking system will improve overall customer satisfaction.
”Our customers are always our #1 priority and we continuously strive to provide the very best products and services”, says Angela Malik, Customer Service Manager of Bloomex. “ We are confident that our two new systems will alleviate some of the issues that have faced us in the past.”

After the initial meeting with Ellen Roseman, Dimitri Lokhonia placed Michelle Robitaille, the Public Relations Manager at Bloomex and Ellen Roseman in contact to assess some of the past complaints, and give Bloomex an opportunity to correct situations where they made mistakes. Michelle Robitaille has reviewed each complaint seriously, extracting all order details from the Bloomex system to determine accountability and try to rectify them. This has initiated customer refunds, credits, discounts and re-sending of products where Bloomex has taken the initiative to regain customers that have had unsatisfactory dealing with Bloomex, as well as ensuring these concerns do not arise in the future.

“Our goal is to address the issues of past Bloomex clients, and offer them reasonable compensation where we made mistakes. Due to the nature of our business, and human error, we do make mistakes, but we always try to resolve these as quickly as possible to maintain customer satisfaction.” Says Michelle Robitaille. “We have made several changes to our website so that our policies and guarantees are easily visible in numerous locations across our website, eliminating unjust expectations. Bloomex’s business model continually permits them to provide the freshest flowers possible at the lowest price.”

Interview with Bloomex Wedding Consultant, Michelle Brazeau

By Alyssa Julie

Designing the perfect wedding at a low cost is a lot easier than most people believe. That’s thanks to companies such as Bloomex, which sells beautiful flowers at extremely low-costs. The company has an expert team of florists that can design the perfect arrangements for your weddings, or they can sell you a selection of beautiful flowers at a wholesale price that won’t break your budget. That’s a great option for young and crafty couples that want a beautiful wedding, but don’t have as much money to spend. Although the company has been around for 10 years, the wholesale division of the company is relatively new (only within the last year or so). Taking up the reigns is Michelle Brazeau, young-women with a background in forestry and a passion for plants of all kinds. She jumped headfirst into her career with the company and has been rising quickly through the ranks ever since. She is now the wedding and wholesale’s consultant for Canada’s largest online flower company.

Bloomex, she explains, is able to offer bulk flowers at such affordable prices because they deal directly with the growers. There is no middle- man to speak of. That means the flowers they sell are beautiful and fresh and since they are grown in Canada, they don’t take too long to reach the customer.

So whether you want to create your own beautiful arrangements, or whether you want someone to do that for you, Michelle is their to help brides and grooms-to-be understand what flowers there are available and what flowers make great matches. That’s something that can often be very surprising she says, adding, “ I was never a big fan of Carnations, but after seeing the beautiful ways they can be arranged, I’ve definitely become a fan of Carnations.” The company, she says, can also provide a striking, expertly arranged bouquet at an extremely low cost that will look beautiful with any DIY or professionally designed flower arrangements.

The one piece of advice she says needs to be emphasized, is that whether you’re interested in DIY or not, couples should take time to plan flower arrangements well in advance of the big day. Most couples, she says, change their minds a few times before coming up with the perfect arrangements, simply because there is so much to choose from. Just think; couples can choose anything from striking and colorful Hydrangeas, to Carnations or Tulips, to the timeless and elegant Calla Lily.

That said, although most brides change their mind quite a bit before the big day, there are definitely some noticeable trends. For one, brides often choose colors that will match their bridesmaid dresses. Many brides are also choosing flowers in cream colors and shades of pink, such as Fuchsia. “Really anything that’s feminine,” Brazeau explains. Matching the color of your flowers and bouquet to your bridesmaids’ dresses makes sense, because it ties all the colors together so they aren’t overwhelming.

At the end of the day, Michelle says she really loves her job and sees herself working there for some time to come. Not only does she love working with flowers; but also It’s such an important day for all of her customers and it’s a great feeling to be involved in something so monumental to their lives.

2008 Floral Trends

So, what’s hot for floral trends in 2008? The trends for 2008-2009 were unveiled at the AIFD’s (American Institute of Floral Design) “The Edge of Paradise” Symposium in Palm Desert in the summer of 2007. At that time, with the input from leading floral stylists and floral product designers, they arrived at the 2008 floral forecast. Based on various factors, the following 5 factors are the lead in for 2008 floral trends.


“Habitat”

A concern for the Earth, gentler, yellowed greens dominate, with touches of blue yielding a calm and natural feeling. Flowers and plants of interesting form and texture are showcased. "Habitat" provides a restful, serene and studious environment that communicates one's ecological values, respecting the delicate balance between the Earth and its people. Below are some of the flowers that enact the habitat style:

Rose
'Monte Cassino' Aster
Calla
Hydrangea
Gladiola
Tulip
Hyacinth


"Nocturne"

"Nocturne" exudes luxury and opulence with a darker edge. This provocative, urban palette is inspired by haute couture and celebrity culture. Lustrous hues of greyed purples, plums and roses combine in overflowing arrangements that bring together deeply coloured flowers with powerful silhouettes. "Nocturne" expresses elegance and luxury. Below are some of the flowers that enact the habitat style:

Rose
Cattleya Orchid
Japhet Orchid
Phalaenopsis Orchid
Asiatic Lily
Miniature Calla
Gerbera
Gladiolus


"Whisper"

A tranquil, calming aura floats through "Whisper," with neutral, hushed tones of creams, grays and blues. Stronger earth tones, such as brown and charcoal, provide a base, and a hint of dusty coral and shimmery copper add punch. "Whisper" invites us to settle in and let tranquility and texture envelop our senses. Below are some of the flowers that enact the habitat style:

Rose
LA Hybrid Lily
Protea
Peony
Anthurium
Dahlia


“Nomad”


The bright colours of tribal handicrafts from around the globe populate this trend, from golden oranges and saturated blues to deep fuschias and browntinged reds. "Nomad" celebrates the wanderlust in each of us while the global influences that shape our world in a vivid, exciting palette. Below are some of the flowers that enact the habitat style:

Gerbera
Iris
Rose
Asiatic Lily
Parrot Tulip
Miniature Calla
Sunflower

"Chinoiserie"

"Chinoiserie" (pronounced shen-wah'-zeh-ree), a French term describing European interpretations of Chinese style from the 17th and 18th centuries, reflects China's influence as a world power and Westerners' fascination with the country, the site of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. This update features a midtone colour palette encompassing dominant pink-toned reds as well as lighter purples and greens as complements. "Chinoiserie" offers a new take on cultured style and beauty with its exotic sophistication. Below are some of the flowers that enact the habitat style:

Chrysanthemum
Cymbidium Orchid
Oriental Lily
Calla
Rose
Gladiolus
Gerbera
Tulip
Snapdragon

So what does this all mean? Well to start we can see reoccurring favourites populate the 2008 floral trends guide, the rose, gladioli, orchids and lilies are just but a few. However, the type of flower is not the only thing, the top 5 trends are based on colours and moods of these various favourites. The distinction of trendy colours, as well as the mood these colours and flowers represent is what catapults them into the various category trends. What we are learning is that in our everyday, our moods and the colours we select depict how we feel, flowers have always been considered a “feel good” gift. For spring '08, models became walking bouquets of roses, peonies, and pansies – to name a few. The season itself was the obvious inspiration for this blossoming trend, with designers displaying vibrant illustrations and blurred hothouse motifs in their delightful fashions. Flower lovers will swathe themselves in large, graphic floral prints, while those allergic to the impact of oversized patterns can opt for a quieter take on the flowery trend by choosing summery dresses and silky scarves in mid-sized prints. Flowers are everywhere in our daily lives, and now you can customize your “feel good” surprise with a unique twist of colours, which actually have meanings!