Flower shops bloom in changing downtown landscape

As the downtown landscape continues to change, flower shops in the area coexist by meeting the community’s different needs.

At Rain Forest Flowers, Italy native Sarah Zaatiti creates designs inside her bright green storefront at 906 S. Sixth St.

Her 3-year-old location doesn’t attract much walk-in traffic but instead depends on wire services such as FTD and Teleflora. Zaatiti primarily specializes in weddings and funerals, but recently garnered a few casino accounts.

Even so, her business has slowed in the past year.

Zaatiti attributes fewer flower and plant orders to the economy and people spending less on flowers for holidays or special events. She’s operated Rain Forest Flowers for 14 years, albeit 11 of them were in Italy.

In 2012, floriculture-related sales at U.S. retail outlets totaled $34.3 billion, up from 2011’s $32.1 billion. The industry’s peak sales year was 2007, which brought in $34.6 billion, information from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis shows.

In 2011, the last year counted, there were more than 1,500 retail florist shops in the United States.

With a bright orange entrance, We Luv Flowers by Faith has resided on Main Street since October.

Owner Faith Lough moved her flower shop from a warehouse space she’d occupied for six years at Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue. While wanting to move, she still needed to be near her existing downtown casino customers.

“I wasn’t prepared to move anywhere across the city,” Lough said.

Her new location is 4 miles away, and attracts and decent amount of walking traffic, Lough said.

A full-service flower shop, We Luv Flowers also has accounts with downtown wedding chapels and the general public.

Since moving to 1221 S. Main St., Lough’s sales have increased about 20 percent to 25 percent. About 25 percent of her clientele are tourists.

Gaia at 6 E. Charleston Blvd. opened in summer 2009.

Since then, the shop has seen its share of declining business, but is keeping its head afloat by being flexible and adapting to the ever-changing downtown community.

Angela Harelik, who heads marketing and promotions at Gaia, said the recession took its toll. In late 2011 the store was downsized and now occupies half its original space. Walking traffic from First Friday also began dwindling in 2011, costing the shop valuable exposure that resulted in sales throughout the year.

That’s not dragging Gaia down.

The shop appeals to a niche audience with its sustainable arrangements and locally made vases, and has expanded into nearby offices through subscription service and plant maintenance. Gaia also is working with a few of the nearby restaurants, such as Eat and La Comida, which helps the bottom line.

“We’re just rolling with it,” Harelik said. “We’re learning what the need is downtown and meeting that need as it comes.”

Contact reporter Laura Carroll at
lcarroll@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @lscvegas on Twitter.