Sessile: The Strength of a Network of Florists
Today, florists face many challenges in the flower market: often rendered anonymous online, they are facing increasing competition from pure players—websites that aim to disrupt traditional distribution channels. To address this situation, Sessile has decided to create a network of florists that restores their visibility and gives them the opportunity to practice their craft as they see fit.
It’s a fact: florists aren’t currently getting the visibility they deserve online. Yet they’re the French people’s favorite choice for buying flowers, and the majority trust them to create their bouquets. In fact, renowned for their expertise, they maintain an image as masters of their craft that continues to draw customers into their shops. As a result, florists account for 49% of plant sales, far ahead of big-box retailers and garden centers.
However, online, this proportion does not hold true: sales of flowers by florists account for only 10% of the market. How can this phenomenon be explained? First, by the cost of investing in an effective digital tool that takes into account the realities of their day-to-day operations, which slows down the digital transformation of professionals in the sector. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to cover the cost of search engine optimization (SEO) on one’s own—a necessity today for standing out on search engines.
Finally, most online sales are dominated by traditional flower delivery companies, which take a significant cut of the bouquet’s value through high commissions. At the same time, there has been a surge of new players—known as “pure players”—who bypass traditional distribution networks and are capturing an ever-increasing share of online flower sales.
An online network of artisan florists to give florists a voice
Under these circumstances, it’s difficult for individual florists to meet the challenge of digitizing their businesses—which is why the Sessile collective was founded. Our goal is to bring together a broad network of artisan florists so that each member’s visibility benefits the others. The goal is to provide a community-based tool optimized for search engine rankings that allows them to attract online users searching for flowers near their shops. In short, by joining the Sessile collective, you help boost the visibility of a florist on the other side of France—just as they help boost yours!
We didn’t choose the term “collective” by chance: our goal is to foster a network of artisan florists committed to a profound transformation of the market, so that it better reflects the daily realities of florists. Isolated in the face of a market that’s beyond their control, florists are at a disadvantage; but when they come together as a collective, they have everything they need to defend themselves against the competition.
Would you like to join our collective and become part of a network of florists committed to transforming the market? Please feel free to contact us so we can discuss this further.
Who are we?
Sessile champions the independence of artisan florists online. Founded in 2019 by six friends, Sessile brings together 500 florists committed to transforming the industry and enables flower delivery throughout France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. By breaking away from the traditional online catalog model, the network highlights each florist’s expertise and helps keep the art of floristry alive. Florists can pursue their passion and create more creative bouquets because they have greater freedom to offer seasonal flowers and, whenever possible, locally sourced flowers.